Re
City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: MAY 6, 2025
FROM: PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: RIVERSIDE REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL PLANT – APPROVAL OF REVISED SEWER SYSTEM MANAGEMENT PLAN AND RESOLUTION ISSUES:
Approval of the revised Sewer System Management Plan and adoption of a Resolution updating the Sewer System Management Plan.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Approve the revised Sewer System Management Plan; and
Adopt the Resolution updating the Sewer System Management Plan.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Riverside Public Works Department, Sewer Division, is responsible for the collection and treatment of wastewater for over 100,000 customers within City limits. The City of Riverside’s wastewater collection system, the network of pipes which convey wastewater to the Riverside Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP), consist of over 800 miles of gravity sewers, 400 miles of laterals, and 19 wastewater lift stations.
In May 2006, the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) adopted the Statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) for Sanitary Sewer Systems (Order No. 2006-0003-DWQ). It required owners of sewer systems greater than one mile to develop and implement a system-specific Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP).
In December 2022, the Water Board adopted a revised WDR (Order No. 2022-0103-DWQ) to be effective in June 2023. Sewer owners throughout the state were required to audit their existing SSMPs for consistency with the new regulation and to revise them accordingly.
The City’s SSMP was subsequently audited for the implementation period covering May 3, 2021 to May 2, 2024 as directed by the Water Board. The City, and similar sized sewer system owners, were given until May 2025 to prepare a comprehensive audit report, revise their SSMPs, and implement necessary changes, if any, to their collection system management programs. The City will meet this requirement by way of the revised SSMP considered herein.
The SSMP outlines the City’s planned management, operation, and maintenance of the sanitary sewer system in accordance with the goal of preventing sanitary sewer overflows. The WDR requires SSMPs to be updated every six years and recertified by the City Council then, and/or whenever significant updates are made. Dates of significant revisions to the SSMP are summarized in the table below.
SSMP Revision Date
Cause for Revision
City Council Approval
2009
N/A, first adoption
July 14, 2009
2014
WDR required 5-year review and revision
June 24, 2014
2016
City Internal Audit: Wastewater Collection System-Asset Management Performance Audit October 25, 2016
2019
External review as part of Integrated Wastewater Master Plan Update January 7, 2020
2024
WDR required internal audit & update
Tentative May 6, 2025
DISCUSSION:
The City of Riverside has been fully implementing its adopted SSMP throughout the audit period of May 3, 2021 through May 2, 2024, and continues to implement them. The goal of the audit was to review the SSMP, its implementation, and its overall effectiveness along with the City’s overall compliance with the WDR. The audit aimed to identify areas of corrective action and improvement and establish a schedule by which those changes would be addressed.
As prescribed, the SSMP audit tasked the City to benchmark its sewer spill performance against other sewer collection systems in the region and the state. In all but one spill category, the City of Riverside spill rate per 100 miles of collection system net volume of spills is at or better than the average indices for both the region and state. The City’s program is highly effective.
The proposed resultant revisions to the SSMP and those for which City Council approval is recommended are summarized in the table below:
SSMP Element
Revisions
1.1 Regulatory Context
General description of system management program and plan implementation and updates
1.2 SSMP Update Schedule
Plan update schedule, internal audit schedule, and incorporation of activities to address spill prevention
1.3 Asset Overview
Assets and service area description; reference service area boundary map
2. Organization
Update contact information
Add charts showing chain of communication for spills
Include revised organizational chart to define organizational lines of authority
4.1 System Map
Update the system map
Discuss procedure for map updates
4.4 Equipment Inventory
Update equipment inventory listing
7. Blockage Control Program
Discuss GIS capabilities in identifying hot spot areas
Include public education plan and schedule
8.1 System Evaluation and Condition Assessment
Discussion of CCTV program as part of condition assessment efforts
8.3 Prioritization of Corrective Action
Recommend discussion and mapping repair locations and prioritization
9. Monitoring, Measurement, and Program Modifications
Recommend discussion on how GIS and dashboards are used to identify trends, track KPIs, and inform improvements Add section discussing adaptive management program for the SSMP and schedule to periodically review and assess performance and take necessary corrective actions
10. Internal Audits
Include internal audit procedure
11. Communication Program
Update City website with current SSMP following City Council approval FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the adoption of the SSMP and resolution. Costs associated with Sewer Division operations are included in Sewer budget.
Prepared by: Kylie Nguyen, Wastewater Resources Analyst Approved by: Gilbert Hernandez, Public Works Director Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Kris Martinez, Assistant City Manager Approved as to form: Jack Liu, Interim City Attorney
Attachments:
Sewer System Management Plan – Revision 2025
Resolution – Updating the City of Riverside, Sewer System Management Plan Sewer System Management Plan ● Page 2