Description: This is Modesto's wastewater's last stop prior to being released into the San Joaquin River. The treatment plant and its surrounding canals, fields, and ponds is one of the best birding spots in Stanislaus County. Access is limited. This site is no longer “Sewer Ponds” but an industrial facility with a major construction process incorporated in its daily life for the next 10 years or so. They have designated the second Saturday each month for the birdwatchers between 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM only. A 5 day advance notice is required. Ph.: 209- 342-4501. Email: kfreitas@modestogov.com . Visitors will be met at the front gate and must sign in at the front office and receive a map of the facility, written instructions and sign a liability waiver form. After the visit they will need to sign out.

Directions:  
From Modesto take Carpenter Rd. or Crowslanding Rd. south. Turn right (west) on Keyes Rd. Continue west on Keyes Rd. to the stop sign at Jennings Rd. Turn left (south) on Jennings Rd. The entrance to the facility is past Keyes Rd on the right. at the bend in the road.

From Hwy 99 in Turlock take West Main Rd. (west) 10.4 miles and turn right (north) on Jennings Rd. The entrance to the facility is 2 miles ahead on the left, just before the bend in the road.

Birding Information: The ponds are a magnet for waterfowl and shorebirds during the appropriate time of the year. Thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds in the winter make this a spectacular place to visit. The list of bird species is rather lengthy: Horned Grebe, White-faced Ibis, Brant, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Surf Scoter, Hooded Merganser, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Pacific Golden-Plover, American Golden-Plover, Snowy Plover, Willet, Wandering Tattler, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-tailed Jaeger, Franklin's Gull, Mew Gull, Thayer's Gull, Western Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Glaucous Gull, Sabine's Gull, Black Tern, Common Tern, Bank Swallow and Swamp Sparrow.

New Visitation Restrictions and Access Map

Please read this notice from the management at the ponds:

Special Notice from the Secondary Wastewater Facility