Our mission at Orange County Sanitation District is “to protect public health and the environment by providing effective wastewater collection, treatment, and recycling.” Which means, here at OC San, every day is World Oceans Day.

At OC San we are dedicated to safeguarding the health of the environment. This has led us to take a comprehensive proactive approach to assuring our ocean waters are protected. On our off-shore monitoring vessel, Nerissa, OC San’s ocean monitoring team regularly examines the marine communities along our outfall pipe. Extensive research has revealed that the fish and other critters are healthy and no different from those living in similar parts of the ocean. Since 1985, the level of pollutants in the sediments has decreased dramatically due to our source control program and these levels continue to decline.

In support of OC San’s ocean monitoring program, our laboratory performs nearly 100,000 analyses on ocean samples each year. Results demonstrate that the water OC San releases does not negatively impact the local marine environment. We take great care in using the best wastewater treatment technologies and our comprehensive ocean monitoring program continues to be a model for others throughout the nation. Join us in celebrating World Oceans day as we protect our world’s shared ocean today and every day! A healthy ocean is essential to our future. What part will you play in protecting and conserving our oceans?

Fun Fact: Nerissa means “daughter of the sea” in Latin and “sea spirit” in Greek. It also means candle lady, a candle lighting the way.

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