Come Grow With Us!

CASA is delighted to share that we will be continuing the CASA Mentoring Program in 2023-24 after another successful year. Join us as a mentor or mentee to inspire others, share knowledge and drive change! This 11-month comprehensive program, kicking off in October and concluding in August 2024, serves to connect clean water professionals from across the state of California. Working with Core Consulting, which has a depth of experience developing mentoring and training programs working with public agencies, CASA will match mentor/mentee pairs based on their professional goals, preferences, and experience. The program is open to both associates and agency members. Want to learn more? Join us for a virtual information session on Monday, July 31, from 12:00pm - 12:30pm or Wednesday, August 16, from 11:30am - 12:00pm and be sure to visit the CASA LEAD webpage! If you already know you are interested in this program for the upcoming year, please email Alyssa Downs (adowns@casaweb.org) so we can add you to our interest list.

Support National Wipes Legislation

Last month, the bipartisan, bicameral WIPPES Act was introduced in Congress. The Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safety (WIPPES) Act (S. 1350/H.R. 2964), would require wipes manufacturers to print a clear and conspicuous "Do Not Flush" label on their nonflushable wipes product packaging.

We’re asking CASA members to reach out to your congressional delegations urging them to support the WIPPES Act. To help, CASA has created support letter templates to send to your House delegations and Senator Dianne Feinstein. CASA and the other stakeholders have also created a fact sheet that can be sent along with your letters to congressional offices.

The key to advancing this meaningful legislation will be increasing broad support for the bills through additional co-sponsorships, and the most direct way to do this is by having members of Congress hear directly from their constituents! Letters should be sent to congressional offices by May 15.

Sign up for CASA’s State Legislative Updates

CASA has created a new comprehensive e-newsletter to share state legislative updates with the CASA membership. If you are interested in receiving these updates, please contact Spencer Saks. The first edition is available here.

CARB Approves New Regulations

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved the In-Use Locomotive Regulation on Thursday, April 27 and the Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF) Regulations on Friday April 28. The ACF Regulations are of significant importance to CASA members as they require phasing in zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks for truck replacements in the near term (if ZEVs are available). The regulations also do not provide for fleets to expand their compressed natural gas (CNG) fleet vehicles (even those fueled by biomethane) after January 1, 2024. This limits the sector’s ability to accept diverted food waste in support of SB 1383.



However, after two years of working with CARB staff, Board members, and other state agencies, the Board responded to CASA and the wastewater community's concerns and adopted a Resolution with amendments stating they recognize “…that multiple reliable uses for non-fossil biomethane will be needed for successful implementation (of SB 1383). The Board recognizes the need for coordination meetings with other state agencies such as CEC, CPUC, State Water Resources Control Board, CalRecycle, CDFA, CNRA, CalOSHA and other relevant stakeholders such as the California Association of Sanitation Agencies and the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association, to implement SB 1383 and SB 1440. As such, the Board directs staff to prioritize policy discussions related to SB 1383 and SB 1440 implementation…to achieve the SB 1383 target.” Thank you to all those who have been involved in this process, and we look forward to working with state and local agencies to find ways to continue our beneficial use of wastewater biogas!

New Members

Welcome to CASA!

City of Santa Clara 

Ridgeline Municipal Strategies



Central San Welcomes New Board Member

Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (Central San) is delighted to welcome Florence Wedington as the newest member of its Board of Directors. Ms. Wedington was sworn into office on April 26, 2023, following her appointment by the Board to fill a vacancy in Division 3 (Walnut Creek area). The seat was vacant following the passing of Board Member David R. Williams in March. Ms. Wedington is a registered Professional Civil Engineer with over 30 years of experience in the wastewater, recycled water, and water industries working in both the private and public sectors. She is currently a Senior Civil Engineer at East Bay Municipal Utility District and leads their Office of Water Recycling where she manages a $100 million five-year capital budget. Read more in the press release here.

OC San Video Contest

As the regional sewer provider for central and northwest Orange County, the Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) is responsible for safely collecting, treating, disposing, and recycling of over 180 million gallons of wastewater every day. As environmental stewards, OC San’s goal is to educate the younger generations on the impacts and contributions of their actions. OC San’s goal is to help their community understand the value of wastewater. To do so they are launching a video contest among high school and college students in their service area to spread the message that there are a multitude of career opportunities in the wastewater field. This is a great opportunity for students to showcase their skills and for them to learn about their regional sewer service provider. For full contest information visit ocsan.gov/video.

2023 Special Districts Legislative Days

CASA is a proud Partner of the 2023 Special Districts Legislative Days, scheduled for May 16 - 17 at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento. Gain the edge on policy changes impacting your agency and exchange ideas with California’s top decision-makers at the 2023 Special Districts Legislative Days, an interactive and informative two-day legislative conference in our State’s Capitol. 

Fully one-third of the State Legislature turned over this year, making the 2023 Special Districts Legislative Days a MUST-ATTEND EVENT! Register at legislativedays.csda.net today.

Partnering For Impact

Register today for the CWEA and CASA Partnering for Impact (PFI) event happening on June 6, 2023, from 9:00am to 4:15pm in Berkeley, CA. The goal of Partnering for Impact is to build stronger utility, university, and industry collaborations for innovation and find areas where we can create a positive impact together. At this year’s event, we’ll discuss ways we can implement innovative solutions even faster. This year’s featured topics include the risks and rewards associated with various technologies, and what we’re learning about innovations in biosolids resource recovery. Register here!

CASA Annual Conference

CASA is pleased to announce that we will be hosting our Annual Conference on August 9 - 11 in San Diego at the Manchester Grand Hyatt! The theme of this year’s Annual Conference is The New Water Era. The Conference will feature a host of speakers covering important topics, including wastewater-based epidemiology, workforce development, agency financing, regulatory topics such as PFAS and nutrients, and much more! Keep an eye out for registration opening in the next two weeks, you won’t want to miss it!

CASA represents more than 130 local public agencies engaged in the collection, treatment and recycling of Wastewater and biosolids to protect public health and the environment. Our mission is to provide trusted information and advocacy on behalf of California clean water agencies, and to be a leader in sustainability and utilization of renewable resources.