Biosolids management programs for publicly owned treatment works in the San Francisco Bay Area are continually evolving to confront a changing management and regulatory environment. In spring 2024, the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA) conducted a survey to provide updated information about the state of biosolids treatment, disposal, and beneficial use in the Bay Area. This post provides a high-level summary of the survey results included in BACWA’s 2024 Biosolids Trends Survey Report.

PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”, are a group of synthetic chemicals found almost everywhere in the environment, some of which make their way to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The US EPA will soon release a draft risk assessment to determine whether there is a need for PFAS regulations. Though it will not include the risk management portion and therefore will not be a final document, it may drive national and state-level regulatory limits. This post aims to provide a list of resources to stay up to date on the latest regulations and research related to PFAS.

In addition to their many other beneficial uses, biosolids can be used to restore fire-damaged lands. Research trials have demonstrated that applying biosolids to fire-damaged lands improves soil health, encourages revegetation, and decreases runoff. This post summarizes two of these trials and provides links to additional resources on this topic.

In addition to producing Class B cake and dried biosolids onsite, many Bay Area agencies contract with third-party private companies like Synagro and Lystek for offsite processing and management of their solids. For more information on these companies’ processing facilities and their Class A biosolids products, click on the link below.

We’ve known for some time now that beneficial use of biosolids has a positive impact on the climate and carbon sequestration. Wastewater agencies now have a way to calculate this impact: BEAM*2022. Many wastewater agencies across the country are using this biosolids-focused greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting model to calculate the GHG emissions of solids handling. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) recently utilized the model to calculate the emissions of solids handling and biogas utilization alternatives to identify opportunities to mitigate emissions.

This product profile describes the various technologies available for biosolids drying and the types of dried biosolids products, including their typical characteristics and the markets in which they can be used.

A recent study by UC Merced measured soil organic carbon on ranches in Northern California that land apply biosolids to improve soil fertility and found that biosolids increased soil organic carbon content. The encouraging results indicate that the use of biosolids helps soil store more carbon, which is an important tool in the fight against climate change and rebuilding the health of our soils.

Two events of interest to the BABC are happening in late November 2023. The California Bioresources Alliance Symposium will be held both virtually and in-person in Sacramento on November 28th and 29th. CASA and CWEA’s Innovative Technology Seminars will be held in person in Oakland on November 29th and in Los Angeles on November 30th.

The Bay Area Biosolids Coalition has just published a profile on the most common biosolids product produced by its members - Class B cake. This is the first in a series of biosolids product profiles intended to be used as a tool when communicating with potential end-users and the general public.

Beneficially using biosolids is core to the Bay Area Biosolids Coalition’s mission. To preserve beneficial uses while remaining compliant with evolving regulations, the Coalition tracks regulations and participates in research at the national, state, and local levels. To learn more about biosolids regulations and research, see the attached summary.

The annual conference for the California Water Environment Association (CWEA) is less than two weeks away!

In collaboration with the San Francisco Estuary Institute, Sonoma Land Trust, and Ducks Unlimited, the Bay Area Biosolids Coalition and Bay Area Clean Water Agencies participated in the development of the Biosolids in the Baylands White Paper. The purpose of this document is to bring together existing knowledge of the baylands and biosolids management…