Curious about what we do at the Goleta Sanitary District? Watch the video below!

Much has changed in the eight decades since the Goleta Sanitary District was established in 1942. The United States was engaged in the Second World War, the community of Goleta had 1,500 residents, and much of the area was devoted to the agricultural production of citrus fruits and vegetables.

The members of the community at that time determined that it was necessary to form a special district solely focused on the protection of public health and the environment through the safe collection, treatment and disposal of its wastewater. The fledgling District applied to the U.S. Navy Department to connect its sewer lines to the Marine Air Base, located on the site of today’s Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. Plans were drawn to build a sewer system and treatment plant. In July 1951, the new plant opened for the first time to an enthusiastic community. Since that time the Goleta Sanitary District has evolved as the community has grown and has always remained committed to its mission: We protect public health and the environment through cost-effective wastewater collection, treatment, and resource recovery to meet present and future community needs.

The District’s vision for the future is focused on sustainability through innovation based on new technologies to maximize water resource recovery, reuse and energy self-sufficiency.

GSD at a glance

Did you know...

• We serve approximately 80,000 people in the Goleta Valley
• We provide wastewater treatment and reclamation services to the City of Goleta, UCSB, Isla Vista, Santa Barbara Airport and adjacent unincorporated parts of the County of Santa Barbara 
• Our Collection System staff continually inspect, clean, and maintain over 135 miles of underground pipes throughout the District
• Our Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) can treat up to 9.8 million gallons of wastewater a day and can produce as much as 3.3 million gallons of recycled water a day
• The treatment process includes three stages: Primary (physical separation), Secondary (biological removal of organics), and Tertiary (carbon filtration) before any remaining pathogens are removed through chemical disinfection
• Our facilities are operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by State-certified professionals
• Treated wastewater that isn't used for irrigation is purified, then discharged to the ocean one mile offshore from Goleta Beach at a depth of 92 feet
• Our State-certified laboratory staff perform over 600 separate water quality tests every month to ensure that we meet all State and Federal requirements
• Our annual operating budget is over $25 million 
• We have a total of 39 full-time employees when fully staffed
• The District is funded in part by sewer service fees that are included in your property tax bill
• The sewer service fee for a single-family residence is still only $45.36 a month. That's more than 30% below the average fee charged by other districts in the County.
• We have been re-certified as a District of Distinction at the Platinum level for transparency, training, and good governance practices by the California Special Districts Association's Special District Leadership Foundation
• We produce biogas (from the solids digestion process) that is collected and reused onsite for heating
• Onsite power generators ensure that we have continual operations during power outages 
• Our three-step treatment process produces an extremely clean effluent that meets all strict State and Federal regulations
• Our facility is designed to meet the long-range needs of the Goleta Valley
• We are constantly innovating and preparing for the future