Susanville Sanitary District was formed on December 14, 1948, as an independent Special District by the Consolidation of Milwood Sanitary District and Susanville Sanitary District. When first formed the District was called Susanville Consolidated Sanitary District(SCSD). In 2005 the name was changed to Susanville Sanitary District. Susanville Sanitary District provides wastewater collection and treatment servicing the City of Susanville, CA. Susanville is about 85 miles North-Northwest of Reno, Nevada on the Eastern slopes of where the Sierra Nevadas and the Cascade Mountain ranges meet.

The District's boundaries encompass approximately 6.2 square miles. With a few exceptions, the boundaries are contiguous to Susanville City limits. The District has approximately 3,595 connections out of which 3,199 are residential, 387 are commercial and 9 are industrial. Currently, the District provides wastewater collection and tertiary wastewater treatment. The District recently went to UV disinfection in lieu of chemical treatment in order to better serve the community and protect the environment. The District owns and maintains 61 miles of collection pipelines, a wastewater treatment plant, 2 polishing ponds, and a wetland.

Wastewater is collected through 60 miles of gravity-fed pipelines and one mile of pressure sewer mains. The Wastewater Treatment Plant(WWTP) treats approximately 1.0 million gallons of wastewater per day during dry weather and approximately 1.2 million gallons per day(mgd) in wet weather. The WWTP has the capacity to treat and discharge 2.0 mgd average monthly flow and 3.1 mgd peak wet weather flow, with a maximum hydraulic capacity of 4.0 mgd. For planning purposes, the District estimates that each residence uses approximately 250 gallons per day.

Operation costs are covered by ratepayers based on the type of use, and property owners through property taxes. Costs associated with new development are paid by private developers while costs for infrastructure as a whole are paid through service and connection fees, as appropriate.