When we flush toilets or drain sinks and appliances, the wastewater seems to simply disappear. Of course, it doesn't. It drains into the wastewater collection system, a 120-mile system of pipelines that collects wastewater from throughout the Goleta Valley and transports it to the wastewater treatment plant located near Goleta Beach.

Goleta Sanitary District's constant focus on maintaining the collection system in top condition, as well as residents' cooperation in not dumping toxics into the system has helped protect everyone's safety as well as the environment.

The District's $100,000 Jet-Truck is used to clean the wastewater collection pipelines with powerful water jets to ensure smooth flow and prevent spills.

The Industrial Hazardous Materials control officer from the District tests collection systems to ensure that businesses treat toxic substances on-site and do not discharge them into the collection system.

Goleta Sanitary uses a computer system called Geographic Information System (GIS) to create digital maps with accurate descriptions of roads, pipelines, and other information. With maps, and technical information available on computer, staff only has to click on an area of pipeline to pull up maintenance records and technical specifications on that particular pipe.

To make all the GIS information even more useful, a new software program will evaluate the data and assign a prioritized maintenance schedule to each pipeline in the collection system. The system updates itself as new information is added, eliminating the need to hire outsite consultants to create a maintenance plan. Because information is always up-to-date and maintenance needs prioritized, problems are minimized.

The District carries out a formal plan of preventative maintenance to stop problems before they occur, such as cleaning of pipelines with the Jet Truck and underground televising so staff can view pipelines to determine where additional maintenance is needed.