Wastewater Engineering for California Developers
From planning to permits to construction, we handle all wastewater engineering for your California development. State Water Board and Regional Water Quality Control Board permitting, collection system design, lift stations, and treatment plants. Projects that move fast and stay on budget.
- Free consultation
- Complete Project Submittal
- Faster Project Delivery
- +285 WWTP Projects Completed
- +40 Engineers Team
Table of Contents
Wastewater Treatment Planning
Before you start building in California, you need solid answers about wastewater. Can you tie into the city’s system? Will you need your own treatment plant? What will the State Water Board require, and what’s this going to cost you over time?
We help California developers figure this out early. Our planning covers looking at treatment choices, sizing systems for how big you’re planning to build, and putting real numbers on what it costs upfront versus what you’ll spend running it. We look at small package plants, full treatment facilities, and everything in between. We factor in California’s water situation, your site conditions, State Water Board rules, and whether recycled water makes sense.
What you get: Clear numbers before you buy land or finalize your budget. No surprises down the road—just good engineering that helps you make decisions that work for your business.
Wastewater Treatment Permitting
Getting wastewater permits in California means dealing with the State Water Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards. It takes time, and getting it wrong costs you more time and more money. We handle the full permitting process so your project doesn’t sit still.
We put together Waste Discharge Requirements applications, coordinate with the Regional Boards, answer their technical questions, and work through revisions until you’re approved. Whether you’re discharging to surface water, doing land application, or looking at recycled water, we know what each Regional Board wants and how to get through their process without endless back-and-forth.
We’ve permitted projects all over California—from Southern California to the Bay Area to the Central Valley. We understand local basin plans, Title 22 water recycling rules, and how to put applications together that get approved without months of waiting. You get permits that move through the system while your project stays on schedule.
Construction Drawings
Once your system is designed and permitted, you need construction drawings that California contractors can actually use. We create complete plan sets in AutoCAD Civil 3D with everything needed for bidding and building.
Our drawings show treatment facilities, collection systems, lift stations, and everything else that goes with them. Each sheet has detailed plans, profiles, cross-sections, and specs that meet California requirements. We coordinate with structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers so nothing falls through the cracks. Everything gets reviewed and stamped by a California-licensed PE.
Contractors get drawings with all the details they need to price it right and build it right. That means fewer questions during construction, fewer change orders, and staying on budget. You get documents that move your California project from plans to reality without delays or confusion.
Infiltration and Inflow Analysis
If you’re buying land with existing sewer lines in California, you need to know what shape they’re really in. Extra water sneaking into the system—from groundwater, storm connections, or cracked pipes—costs you money in treatment and eats up capacity you might need.
We run I&I studies that measure how much extra water is getting in and where it’s coming from. This means flow monitoring, smoke testing, and checking the system to find problem spots. We calculate what it costs to fix versus what it costs to leave it alone, so you can decide what’s worth doing.
For California developers, this tells you if the existing system can handle what you’re building or if you need to fix things first. For projects in older neighborhoods, it shows you what you’re taking on and what it’ll cost to bring things up to code.
Hydraulic Modeling
You need to know your system will work in California before you spend money building it. Hydraulic modeling lets us test everything on a computer and catch problems when they’re cheap to fix instead of expensive.
We build computer models of collection systems to check pipe sizes, verify slopes, confirm lift station sizing, and see how everything performs under different conditions. This includes peak flows, wet weather events, and growth over time as you build out your development.
Modeling catches problems early—pipes that are too small, slopes that don’t work, capacity issues—when fixing them is easy and cheap. By the time you break ground, you know the system works. Contractors build what’s in the drawings, and it does exactly what it’s supposed to do. No surprises, no emergency fixes, no change orders for bigger pipes after they’re already underground.
Collection System Design
Your collection system is what makes wastewater infrastructure work. Get it wrong and you’ll have backups, smells, and costly repairs for years. Get it right and it just works while your development does well.
We design gravity sewers, force mains, manholes, and cleanouts that meet California standards and handle your flows without problems. This includes sizing pipes correctly, setting slopes that keep lines clean, placing manholes where they make sense, and coordinating with other utilities. We account for California soils, seismic requirements, high groundwater where it matters, and making sure crews can maintain things later.
Our designs balance what you pay now against how it performs long-term. We don’t make everything oversized just to be safe, and we don’t cut corners that cause problems later. You get a collection system sized right for California, designed so it’s easy to maintain, and built to last without wrecking your budget.
Lift Station Design
When gravity won’t work in your California development, you need lift stations you can count on. A lift station that fails means sewage backing up, emergency calls, and angry residents—none of which you want in a new project.
We design lift stations with backup pumps, emergency power, good ventilation, odor control, and controls that adjust automatically. Every station is sized for peak flows with room for growth. We pick pumps that handle solids without jamming, design wet wells that work in California’s climate, and set up access that doesn’t require confined space entry when we can avoid it.
The point is a lift station that runs for years without headaches. Pumps that kick on when they should, controls that work in California conditions, and systems that don’t need constant babysitting. You get infrastructure that does its job from the start.
Projects
Why Choose Modern Engineering Solutoins
Modern Engineering Solutions helps California developers handle wastewater engineering so your projects keep moving. Whether you’re trying to figure out if you should connect to city sewer or build your own plant, we give you straight answers from planning through construction. We focus on meeting California requirements without burning your money.
We handle State Water Board Permitting, Package Treatment Plants, Collection System Design, and Lift Stations—everything you need for development work. These services work together to get permits approved faster, keep infrastructure costs reasonable, and prevent delays.
Contact us today to discuss your development. We’ll help you work through California’s wastewater requirements and keep your project on track. Let’s talk about your next California project.
Why We’re a Good Fit for California Developers
We Speak Your Language
You’re building projects, not running a wastewater company. We translate complex SWRCB requirements into straightforward answers you can use to make business decisions. No engineering jargon—just clear information about costs, timelines, and what you actually need to do..
We Know SWRCB Inside and Out
California permitting is complicated. We work with SWRCB daily and know exactly what they want to see in applications. That means permits that move through the system instead of sitting on someone’s desk for months while your project waits.
We Protect Your Timeline
Delays cost you money—carrying costs, missed selling seasons, frustrated investors. We structure our work to keep your project moving. Fast answers during planning. Complete permit applications that don’t need multiple revisions. Construction drawings contractors can build from immediately.
We Give You Real Numbers Early
You need accurate infrastructure costs before you close on land or finalize your pro forma. We provide realistic estimates during feasibility—not vague ranges that leave you guessing. You’ll know what wastewater will actually cost before you’re committed.
We’ve Done This Before
We’ve permitted and designed wastewater systems for developments across California. Small subdivisions to large master-planned communities. Package plants to full-scale treatment facilities. We know what works, what SWRCB approves, and what saves you money.
We’re Responsive
When you have a question, you get an answer—not a voicemail. When SWRCB asks for clarification, we respond immediately. When contractors need information, we don’t slow them down. Your project has momentum, and we keep it that way.
We Think Like Developers
We understand your business. You need projects that pencil out, timelines you can count on, and infrastructure that works without constant problems. We design systems that deliver on all three—because expensive, complicated systems that drain your budget don’t help anyone.