General Manager's Message

Hello and welcome to the official website for the Costa Mesa Sanitary District (CMSD)! I’m glad you chose our website to obtain more information about the services and programs we provide.

CMSD is an independent special district that is dedicated to protecting the community's health and the environment by ensuring reliable sanitary services.  We are responsible for maintaining 224 miles of sewer lines that transport 10.1 million gallons a day to wastewater treatment facilities for 118,000 residents and business owners in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and unincorporated County of Orange. The proactive and aggressive maintenance standards we utilize for our sewer lines and pump stations help protect our waterways and beaches from being contaminated by untreated sewage.  We are proud to be an innovative organization that recognizes the need to properly maintain private sewer laterals. I encourage you to learn more about our Sewer Inspection Rebate Program to find out how you can get rebates for a CCTV of your sewer lateral or the installation of a two-way clean-out.

In addition to wastewater collection, CMSD also provides curbside solid waste collection and recycling services to over 23,000 households.  We have met the State mandate of diverting more than 50% of the community’s waste away from landfills and we are striving to increase our diversion rate for a cleaner and healthier environment with the implementation of our Organics Recycling Program.  The program is the first of its kind in Southern California and it allows us to recycle residential food scraps and green waste into renewable natural gas (RNG) and nutrient rich compost. In addition to recycling organic waste, we offer many other special recycling and disposal programs such as the Battery Recycling Contest, Household Hazardous Waste Collection at your doorstep, and Large Item Collection at your curb.  In 2024, CMSD is expanding its recycling services to include 3 curbside collection carts for trash, recyclables, and organic materials. 

Finally, I want to encourage you to view our Strategic Plan. This plan is the blueprint to our future.  It identifies where we want to be in five years and describes how we are going to achieve our goals.

Again, I hope you enjoy this website and if you would like to speak to me or my staff, please don’t hesitate to contact our office at (949) 645-8400 or you can email me.