The Sanitation Districts provide environmentally sound, cost-effective wastewater and solid waste management and, in the process, convert waste into resources such as reclaimed water, energy, and recycled materials. The Sanitation Districts are a partnership of 24 independent special districts serving about 5.7 million people in Los Angeles County. The Sanitation Districts’ service area covers approximately 820 square miles and encompasses 78 cities and unincorporated territory within the County. The Sanitation Districts construct, operate, and maintain facilities to collect, treat, recycle, and dispose of wastewater and industrial wastes. Individual districts operate and maintain their own portions of the collection system. Local jurisdictions are responsible for the collection of wastewater through local sewers and the collection of solid waste. The Sanitation Districts also provide for the management of solid wastes including disposal, transfer operations, materials recovery, and energy recovery. The 24 districts work cooperatively under a Joint Administration Agreement with one administrative staff headquartered near the City of Whittier. Each Sanitation District has a separate Board of Directors consisting of the mayor of each city within that District and the Chair of the Board of Supervisors for county unincorporated territory. Each Sanitation District pays its proportionate share of joint administrative costs.