District history

Explore our Sewer District history, tracing its evolution and contributions to our community’s development.

The North Davis Metropolitan Sewer Association was formed in 1946 to acquire from the U.S. government the North Davis Metropolitan Sewer constructed in 1943 with federal funding. A Special Service District was organized out of the Association in 1954 giving it authority to levy taxes, issue bonds, and construct a sewage collection and treatment system. Today, the District collects and treats wastewater from approximately 80 square miles with a population of about 238,000. The District is made up of the cities of Clearfield, Clinton, Layton, Roy, Sunset, Syracuse, West Point, and a small area of Kaysville, Hill Air Force Base, and areas of unincorporated Davis and Weber counties. The District serves the area extending north to south from Roy to Kaysville, and east to west from the Wasatch Mountains to the Great Salt Lake.

The District owns and operates approximately 100 miles of sewer collection lines which deliver wastewater to the treatment facility located near the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake in Syracuse, Utah. The facility has the capacity to treat 34 million gallons of wastewater per day, consistently removing over 95 percent of pollutants. Finally, releasing treated water back into the environment of the Great Salt Lake.

The District facilities have been designed and are operated to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. Many by-products of the treatment process are put to beneficial use too. Combustible sewer gas is generated as part of the solids treatment process.  The gas is used to fuel engine-driven generators supplying as much as 60 percent of the energy needs of the treatment plant, significantly reducing the amount of power that must be purchased from electrical utilities. The anaerobic digestion process and heating for buildings on site is achieved by utilizing heat from generator exhaust and cooling systems. The plant generates approximately 3,000 tons of dried biosolids each year and upon compliance with federal regulations governing pathogen and pollutant content, these biosolids can be land applied and used beneficially as an organic soil amendment and fertilizer. After treatment, water discharged from the plant provides irrigation for all turf grass areas at the treatment plant site and for washdown water throughout the plant site.

The Board of Trustees and employees of the District are committed to providing high-quality service at an economical price while meeting the needs of a rapidly growing community and protecting our precious environment.