Approximately 360 miles of pipelines and 14 pumping stations serve as the sanitary collection system backbone to direct this community's domestic and industrial wastewater to it's treatment plant, the Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility (HARRF).

The HARRF is an activated sludge, secondary treatment facility. This consists of physical, biological, and chemical treatment methods, which include screening, sedimentation, chemical precipitation, and biological processes. The HARRF is designed to treat a flow of 18 million gallons per day (MGD). The City operates the HARRF for the benefit of the City and the Rancho Bernardo area of the City of San Diego. Operating 24 hours a day, the average daily flow is 15.6 MGD, comprised of Escondido's flow of 11.8 MGD and Rancho Bernardo's flow of 3.8 MGD.

After complex treatment, the wastewater, called effluent, has been treated to a high quality. The effluent is discharged from the HARRF to the Pacific Ocean via a 14-mile long land outfall pipeline that connects to an ocean outfall pipeline near San Elijo Lagoon. The effluent exits the outfall pipeline approximately 1.5 miles offshore through diffuser ports 110-feet deep in the Pacific Ocean. The City sends the organic material, called biosolids, to Yuma, Arizona for beneficial reuse as a soil amendment.

Water Reclamation and Reuse Program / HARRF Improvements

Started at the HARRF in the Fall of 1998, Phase I Construction is a major rehabilitation of existing facilities and will improve secondary treatment efficiency. Phase II Construction is scheduled to start in the Fall of 1999 which adds tertiary treatment capability to create high quality water production for reuse as irrigation on local golf courses, parks, school grounds, green belts, roadway medians, open spaces and industrial use.

Public Tours

Public tours of the HARRF by interested groups, citizens, and schools are available by appointment.