Orange County Sanitation District operates a state-of-the-art Environmental Sciences Laboratory. The Lab provides services for the Sanitation District’s operations, compliance, and source control activities.
It is staffed by some of the most qualified and experienced individuals in the laboratory testing industry. The lab is accredited by the California Department of Health Services-Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program. The Laboratory is in the process of expanding accreditation to meet both state and national standards by the California ELAP and The National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference Institute (TNI).
Approximately 100,000 analyses, excluding quality assurance and method validations, are performed annually.
Samples are usually collected from the following sites:
- Wastewater influent (the entrance to the plant) and effluent streams (before the water exits the plant.)
- Various stages of wastewater treatment processes
- Industrial wastewater discharge sites
- Water from the Pacific Ocean near the ocean release pipeline
- Water and sediments from the surf-zone, the Santa Ana River and storm drains
- Air samples from Digesters and Central Generation Power engines
- Sediment samples within OC San discharge point
The lab work is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), and the California Department of Health Services (DHS). You can find the lab reports in our document central.