UCLA‑led wastewater needs assessment finishes Phase 1; Phase 2 will map inadequate systems and estimate costs through 2027

State Water Resources Control Board staff and the UCLA project team told the board on July 16 that Phase 1 of the statewide wastewater needs assessment — funded by a 2022 contract — is complete and that Phase 2 will run through 2027 to deliver mapped lists of systems of concern, solution options and cost estimates.

"UCLA is the lead investigator and they subcontracted four other universities for specialized tasks," Danielle Jimerson, senior engineer leading the board’s side of the project, told the board. The board approved a multi‑year contract with UCLA for $4,000,000 in 2022, she said.

Why it matters: The assessment aims to surface where sanitation infrastructure fails or risks failure — including treatment plants, collection systems and unsewered parcels — and to estimate the technical solutions and public funding needed to remedy those gaps across California.

Phase 1 accomplishments and scope: The project completed an inventory and initial data methods in Phase 1 (July 2023–June 30, 2025). Staff said the phase defined categories for three permit‑type system groups (NPDES, waste…