Resource Recovery
Over 75 years of Innovation and Leadership in Resource Recovery
The Goleta Sanitary District began serving the residents of the Goleta Valley in 1942, when the District was first established. Our focus and processes have evolved and grown, as has the population we serve!
The original 1500 residents and businesses now number over 80,000 constituents; we have adapted with the growth of our area and have a first-class, award winning facility recognized for transparency and excellence in everything we do. This includes recognition in governance, our collection system services, laboratory services, public outreach, and treatment facilities. Our staff is tasked with thinking outside the box to study and embrace the latest beneficial technologies in our quest to protect the public and the environment in the least impactful and most efficient way. This means we are constantly working to recover and reuse water, nutrients, and energy through the processes of cleaning wastewater.
We’ve reclaimed over 8.5 billion gallons of water, generate 90 million BTUs of thermal energy a day, and produce an average of 25 tons of biosolids a day, for use as beneficial agricultural compost for livestock or soil amendment, which are free when available to the public.
Our vision statement says it all: To be recognized as the region’s leader in water resource recovery through innovation and excellence.
The Water Resource Recovery Facility is proud to feature a demonstration garden as part of our educational tours. The garden features six citrus trees, in an ode to Goleta’s rich agricultural heritage, and demonstrates how we recover and reuse resources captured in the process of wastewater purification. The Demonstration garden is planted with the addition of biosolids made in house, and is watered by drip irrigation using the recycled water made here. We are also planting vegetables which thrive in the nutrient-rich soil amended with our biosolids.
Learn about the BESP: The District’s Guide to Energy Independence:
