BACWA Membership & Bulletin

Benefits of BACWA Membership

BACWA provides clean water agencies with opportunities for information-sharing and collaboration on regionally important topics. BACWA membership also supports regional progress on key regulatory and scientific issues. For more information, see BACWA’s Strategic Plan and About BACWA.

Classes of Membership

BACWA has three classes of membership open to public agencies:

  • Principals are the five BACWA Joint Powers Agreement signatory agencies. See About BACWA.
  • Associate Members are Bay Area wastewater agencies with a large wastewater treatment plant, which is defined as a plant with a permitted dry weather flow capacity greater than 10 million gallons per day (MGD).
  • Affiliate Members include three types of agencies:
    • Wastewater agencies with a medium or small wastewater treatment plant (permitted dry weather flow less than 10 MGD)
    • Wastewater agencies located outside of the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
    • Wastewater agencies that operate a sewer collection system, but not a wastewater treatment plant

How BACWA Uses Member Contributions

BACWA members receive an annual invoice from East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), which provides treasury and accounting services to BACWA. Annual invoices include:

  • Dues to fund ongoing activities of the BACWA organization, including BACWA staff, the BACWA Bulletin, BACWA Committees, Managers’ Roundtable, and other BACWA meetings and events. BACWA dues allow BACWA to participate in collaborative projects, communicate the value of wastewater to the public, and conduct regional pollution prevention education efforts.
  • Clean Bay Collaborative (CBC) fees support efforts on scientific, technical, or regulatory topics that directly impact BACWA members. These initiatives include compliance support for the Nutrients Watershed Permit, including BACWA’s annual payments to the San Francisco Estuary Institute for the Nutrient Management Strategy. The fees also support work on other regulatory compliance topics such as the Sanitary Sewer Systems General Order, regional and statewide programs to address toxic air pollutants, and emerging contaminants such as PFAS.
  • Special Benefit Programs. BACWA also pools member contributions for special projects such as workforce training, air toxics monitoring, or other needs as they arise.

As a public agency, BACWA values fiscal transparency. For more details about BACWA’s finances, see the most recent BACWA Budget Workplan.

Stay Connected!

  • Newsletter – Sign up for the monthly BACWA newsletter, the BACWA Bulletin, or read past Bulletins here.
  • Committees – Members can join the email list of any BACWA committee to receive meeting invitations and committee announcements. See BACWA Committees.
  • Annual Meetings – Attend an BACWA Annual Meeting, typically held in early May in downtown Berkeley.
  • Calendar – See the full list of BACWA events on the BACWA Calendar.

How to Join

If you are interested in becoming a member of BACWA, please contact us:

Lorien Fono, Executive Director – lf***@***wa.org

Jennifer Dyment, Assistant Executive Director – jd*****@***wa.org