Winery Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation
ROBERT A. RYDER, Director
Pacific Environmental Laboratory
Kennedy Engineers, Inc.
San Francisco, California 94105
INTRODUCTION
The expansion of vineyards and growth of the wine industry is increasing rapidly in
California. California wineries produce about ninety percent of the total wine production in
the United States, and it is expected that this proportion will continue as the climate and soil
conditions are admirably suited to the growth of European type wine grapes. The trend in
production of wine in California may be forecast from records of vineyard acreage presently
under cultivation.
WINE GRAPE ACREAGE IN CALIFORNIA(l)
Plantings of
1959 and
Before 1960-70 1971 1972 Bearing Total
79,902 71,638 32,269 48,622 137,209 222,431
The vineyards will bear in three to five years of planting, so this indicates an expected
seventy-five percent increase in wine grapes within the next few years.
The North Coastal valleys of California have been areas of traditionally excellent
quality table wines.
The expansion of vineyards and wineries in this area has been particularly active, as the
soil and climatic conditions produce premium quality and costly wines. The principal
coastal valley wine grape producing valleys include: 1) Russian River Valley; 2) Napa
Valley; 3) Sonoma Valley; 4) Suisun Valley; 5) Livermore Valley; 6) Santa Clara areas; 7)
San Benito Valley; and 8) Salinas Valley. A much larger quantity of wine is produced in
the Central Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley, but waste disposal conditions in that area
present somewhat less difficult solutions due to warm dry climatic conditions, flat and less
expensive land.
Land disposal of liquid and solid wastes from wineries is the most common practice,
and is particularly favored by state and regional water quality regulatory agencies.
Within the past ten years, prohibitions of direct waste discharge to the Russian, Napa,
Salinas, San Benito and other coastal streams have occurred. The climate of California is
responsible to a large degree for the regulations. Nearly all of the rainfall occurs during a
rainy season extending from mid-October to mid-April, with the warm summer growing
season being nearly rain-free, resulting in many unregulated streams and rivers becoming
nearly dry. The average annual rainfall is between 30 and 40-inches in the valleys north of
San Francisco, and between 12 and 20-inches in the valleys to the east and south.
A recent review of wastewater disposal practices of California wineries (2) indicates the
following proportion of methods currently being utilized:
Discharge to Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants 20 %
Septic Tanks and Leach Fields 9%
Land Irrigation 15 %
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