LA Sanitation recognized as ‘Utility of the Future’

Los Angeles agency’s digester gas utilization project is nearing completion.


City of Los Angeles utility LA Sanitation (LASAN) was recognized as a "Utility of the Future" at the 2016 Water Environment Federation Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Sept. 27, 2016.

Recognition as a “Utility of the Future” is designed to guide utilities towards smarter and more efficient operations, with an emphasis on resource recovery, productivity, sustainability and resiliency. Along with LASAN, 61 utilities across the United States, Canada and Denmark were honored by a peer committee of utility leaders.

LASAN is considered national leader in environmental sustainability. Through its commitment to innovative technologies to support its programs, LASAN is changing the face of solid resources management, watershed protection and water quality programs.

“LASAN is honored by WEFTEC for the innovative work that we do,” says Enrique C.
Zaldivar, P.E., Executive Director of LASAN. “One such project is the Digester Gas Utilization Project, which is very near completion. This is a new cogeneration facility being built at our Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant to convert digester gas to heat and power, and will reduce our carbon footprint by providing us with renewable energy with locally generated resources.”

As a "Utility of the Future," LASAN will receive a display flag and certificate to promote their achievement.

As the lead agency for the city’s environmental programs and initiatives, LA Sanitation protects public health and the environment through the administration and management of three program areas: clean water (wastewater), solid resources (solid waste management) and watershed protection (stormwater).

These infrastructure programs collect, treat, recycle, and dispose the solid and liquid waste generated by the nation’s second largest city of more than four million residents. Through these essential public service programs, LA Sanitation delivers a triple bottom line of economic, environmental, and social benefits that sustain the quality of life in Los Angeles.