During the past decade, the Ross Valley Sanitary District has experienced a seismic shift in operations, including $100 million in infrastructure improvements, investments in asset-management technologies, and in-house maintenance and repair of sewer lines and pump stations.
The utility — based in San Rafael, California, about 20 miles north of San Francisco — was established in 1899 and is one of the state’s oldest wastewater utilities. Beyond infrastructure and technology investments, it has also embraced a training method that captures institutional knowledge about processes and procedures. Known as competency-based training, it has improved workers’ retention of that knowledge and, in turn, increased their
