What orange county sanitation district does

Orange County Sanitation District, doing business as OC San, is a California special district established under the California Health and Safety Code and the California Water Code. It provides wastewater collection, treatment, and recycling services to approximately 2.6 million residents and businesses across central and northwest Orange County, operating two treatment plants and an extensive regional sewer network. The district is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, and is governed by a Board of Directors rather than private shareholders.

Its core technology stack is built around physical-chemical wastewater treatment processes that convert sewage into three output streams: recycled clean water, biosolids marketed as fertilizer, and energy. The agency claims national leadership in energy generation from wastewater. Supporting technical capabilities include a laboratory and ocean monitoring program to verify effluent safety, a biosolids program for fertilizer byproduct management, and urban runoff management. The RISE (Resource Innovation for a Sustainable Environment) initiative explicitly frames the technology agenda around converting wastewater into clean water, healthy fertilizer, and energy.

OC San's revenue model is fundamentally a regulated utility model: recurring sewer service fees billed monthly to residential and commercial customers on a usage-based, publicly disclosed rate structure, supplemented by permit fees for industrial wastewater discharge, special purpose discharge, wastehauler, and FOG (fats, oils, and grease) programs. The district also operates a Capital Improvement Program that funds infrastructure investment across its service area. Public engagement, public education campaigns (What 2 Flush, Wastewater 101 Citizens' Academy), and a multi-language website (English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese) support residential-side compliance and a documented GFOA award for popular annual financial reporting evidences governance transparency.

Name

orange county sanitation district

Legal name

Orange County Sanitation District

Website

https://ocsd.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) is a California special district that provides wastewater collection, treatment, and recycling services to approximately 2.6 million residents and businesses across central and northwest Orange County through two treatment plants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Services

NAICS

Sewage Treatment Facilities (221320), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900), Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial Wastewater & Effluent Treatment Services (BPALAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Public Health (Food Safety, Water Quality, Sanitation) (BPAIAJAE), Municipal Wastewater & Sewage Treatment Chemicals (IMAEAJAB)

Keywords

• Wastewater treatment services
• Sewer collection systems
• Water recycling operations
• Biosolids management
• Industrial discharge permitting

Headquarters

HQ city

Fountain Valley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Sewer Service Fees: Fees charged to residential and commercial customers for wastewater collection, treatment, and recycling services

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) is a public agency that provides wastewater collection, treatment, and recycling services to approximately 2.6 million residents in central and northwest Orange County, California. The agency operates two treatment plants and converts sewage into clean water, healthy fertilizer (biosolids), and energy, while also issuing industrial discharge permits and providing environmental monitoring and public education programs.

Product overview

Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) operates as a public agency providing unified wastewater collection, treatment, and recycling services to approximately 2.6 million people in central and northwest Orange County. The organization runs two treatment plants and maintains extensive sewer infrastructure. Core services include regional sewer service and wastewater treatment, which converts sewage into clean water, biosolids (fertilizer), and energy. Supporting programs include ocean monitoring and laboratory services, urban runoff management, and the RISE innovation initiative. OC San also administers regulatory permits including industrial wastewater discharge, special purpose discharge, wastehauler, and FOG (fats, oils, and grease) permits. Public engagement offerings include the What 2 Flush educational campaign, Wastewater 101 Citizens' Academy, and virtual/in-person facility tours. Administrative services include public records request processing and online payment systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Regional Sewer Service Wastewater collection and transportation services for central and northwest Orange County, serving approximately 2.6 million people through sewer system infrastructure.
• Wastewater Treatment and Recycling Treatment and recycling of wastewater through two treatment plants, converting sewage into clean water, healthy fertilizer (biosolids), and energy.
• Biosolids Program Processing of wastewater byproducts into biosolids used as fertilizer products.
• Ocean Monitoring & Laboratory Program Monitoring and laboratory testing services to ensure ocean safety and environmental compliance.
• Urban Runoff Management Programs to manage and treat urban stormwater and runoff within the service area.
• Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit Permitting service for industrial businesses requiring authorization to discharge wastewater into the OC San sewer system.
• Special Purpose Discharge Permit Permit for special purpose discharges as defined by OC San regulations.
• Wastehauler Permit Permit for wastehaulers transporting wastewater to OC San facilities.
• Fats, Oils, & Grease (FOG) Program Program to manage fats, oils, and grease discharge from commercial food service establishments including restaurants.
• Dental Office Point Source Form Compliance form for dental offices regarding amalgam separator requirements.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San): Special district providing wastewater treatment for the Sacramento region, operating a regional treatment plant serving multiple jurisdictions. Comparable as a multi-jurisdictional sanitation district with similar treatment, recycling, and biosolids programs.
• Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County: Special district providing wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal for much of Los Angeles County. Directly comparable to OC San in governance structure (independent special district), service scope (regional sewage treatment plants), and revenue model (sewer service charges).
• Central Contra Costa Sanitary District: Independent special district providing wastewater collection and treatment for central Contra Costa County. Comparable in size, single-purpose special district structure, and direct customer billing model.
• East Bay Municipal Utility District: Special district providing wastewater and water services in the East Bay area. Comparable to OC San in combining wastewater treatment with broader utility services, public governance, and capital improvement programs.
• Inland Empire Utilities Agency: Joint powers authority providing wastewater treatment and recycled water for San Bernardino County agencies in Southern California. Comparable in scale and service mix (sewage treatment, water recycling, biosolids) and overlap with OC San's regional authority model.
• LA Sanitation & Environment (City of Los Angeles): City department operating the wastewater system for the City of Los Angeles, including Hyperion Treatment Plant. Comparable to OC San as a large urban wastewater agency in Southern California performing collection, treatment, and biosolids/energy recovery.

Broad incumbents

• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California: Regional wholesale water utility serving much of Southern California. Overlaps with OC San's water-recycling agenda and broader regional water infrastructure, but focuses on imported water supply rather than wastewater.
• San Diego County Water Authority: Regional water wholesale agency serving San Diego County. Comparable as a large Southern California public water/wastewater-related agency, though its focus is water supply rather than sewage treatment.
• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: Municipal utility operating water, wastewater, and power for San Francisco. Comparable as an integrated public utility with significant wastewater operations, recycled water programs, and biosolids management, though structured as a city department rather than an independent district.

Regional players

• Orange County Water District: Special district managing Orange County's groundwater basin and recycled water. Not a direct wastewater operator, but a key regional peer and frequent partner of OC San on water-recycling and groundwater recharge projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OCSanDistrict
• YouTubeyoutube.com/2ocsd
• Facebookfacebook.com/OCSanDistrict
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ocsd
• Instagraminstagram.com/OCSanDistrict

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about orange county sanitation district