FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
September 30, 2025

SFPUC Contact: 
communications@sfwater.org

SFPUC Modernizes San Francisco’s Oldest Wastewater Plant with New $717 Million Headworks Facility

New facility, the first step in treating most of San Francisco’s wastewater, boosts seismic resilience, cuts odors, and improves debris removal

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) announced the completion of the first major project in a multi-billion-dollar upgrade to San Francisco’s oldest and largest wastewater treatment plant.

The Headworks Facility, the first stop for 80% of San Francisco’s wastewater at the city’s 1950s-era Southeast Treatment Plant, has been rebuilt to withstand a 7.8 earthquake on the San Andreas fault. The facility is the primary intake and pre-treatment area of San Francisco’s largest wastewater treatment plant. It’s responsible for removing large debris and grit from incoming wastewater. The new facility removes grit with much greater efficiency, protecting other critical treatment systems on site. It also significantly reduces odors, a welcome, long-requested improvement for the surrounding Bayview neighborhood.

“Critical pieces of infrastructure like our treatment plants keep our city running and help us deliver the high-quality services that San Franciscans deserve,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie. “This investment in our city’s future is delivering real results—from jobs for local residents to vibrant neighborhood art to a stronger wastewater system that will serve San Francisco for years to come.”

“By rebuilding this facility, we’re investing in San Francisco’s future,” said SFPUC General Manager Dennis Herrera. “Treating wastewater is one of the most vital things we do to protect public health. It prevents the spread of disease and keeps our communities and waterways clean. This facility is where that starts. It’s now resilient, sustainable, and more efficient. Its long-term reliability reduces maintenance costs, saving ratepayer dollars. And this investment benefits the community through local jobs and opportunities for small business.”

The new Headworks Facility replaces and consolidates two former headworks operations at the Southeast Treatment Plant. It also includes improvements to the Bruce Flynn Wet Weather Pump Station, enabling it to operate year-round and ensure our system continues to protect public health and San Francisco Bay.

On average, the new Headworks Facility treats about 45 million gallons of wastewater per day, enough to fill 68 Olympic-sized swimming pools. During storms, it can handle flows that surge to more than 5.5 times the normal amount – as much as 250 million gallons per day. San Francisco, like many large cities that were established before the 1900s, operates a combined sewer system, which collects and treats both wastewater and stormwater. This removes trash, grit, and other pollutants from enormous volumes of stormwater rather than allowing it to flow untreated into the bay or ocean, but it also significantly increases flows during wet weather.

Key Features of the New $717 Million Headworks Facility:

• Removes grit with 95% efficiency – a 45% improvement over the previous system.
• Significantly reduces odors with new advanced odor technology.
• Built to withstand a magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
• Built to withstand 36 inches of sea level rise.
• Recipient of the Water Environment Federation’s 2025 Project Excellence Award, recognizing the headworks project as one of the country’s leading wastewater upgrades.
• Earned the Envision Gold Award from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure in 2019, the first City of San Francisco project to receive this recognition.
• Improves long-term reliability and reduces maintenance costs, saving ratepayer dollars.
• Replaces two outdated headworks operations with a single, modern facility.
• Local hiring exceeded requirements: 615 San Francisco residents worked more than 414,000 craft hours on the project, accounting for 33% of total hours and earning $34 million in wages and benefits.
• San Francisco Local Business Enterprises received $106 million in project contracts, supporting jobs and investment in the community.
• Features Whorl Whirl: Our Circular Nature by artist Norie Sato. Stretching 335 feet long and 35 feet high, the painted aluminum and stainless-steel sculpture celebrate water’s connection to nature and runs along the facility’s north side on Evans Avenue between Rankin and Quint streets.

“The San Francisco Arts Commission is proud to have worked with the SFPUC to bring Norie Sato’s vision and sculpture to life, integrating this major permanent public artwork into the new Headworks Facility at the Southeast Treatment Plant,” said Ralph Remington, Arts Commission Director of Cultural Affairs. “Celebrating water’s connection to nature and important role in our daily lives, Whorl Whirl, Our Circular Nature serves a striking new gateway for the Bayview community. We thank the SFPUC for their continued partnership with the Arts Commission and artists to incorporate beautiful and meaningful works of art into the urban environment. This work was made possible through San Francisco’s Art Enrichment Ordinance, also known as the 2%-for-art program, which ensures that two percent of above-ground construction costs for projects like headworks are allocated for public art.”

The new Headworks Facility was designed by Carollo Engineers of Walnut Creek, Calif., and built through a joint venture between Tempe, Ariz.-based Sundt Construction and Walsh Construction of Chicago, Ill. The facility is part of a larger investment to transform the Southeast Treatment Plant from an outdated wastewater facility into a modern resource recovery center that works better, looks better, and smells better.

Including the headworks project, the SFPUC is investing more than $5 billion in critical upgrades at the Southeast Treatment Plant, such as the award-winning Biosolids Digester Facilities Project; New Operations, Engineering, and Maintenance Buildings; and a Nutrient Reduction Project.
To support the agency’s commitment to ratepayer affordability, the SFPUC secured over $500 million in low-interest state and federal loans for the headworks project, covering 75% of the cost. The SFPUC also has secured low-cost state and federal funding for the other projects at the Southeast Treatment Plant. These low-interest loans and grants reduce the cost of financing these projects.

“We are proud to have partnered with the SFPUC to help San Francisco upgrade its largest wastewater plant to withstand climate threats, protecting both public health and the San Francisco Bay,” said State Water Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel. “Together with the federal government, the state provided low-interest loans that covered 75% of the project’s total cost and are saving ratepayers millions of dollars in interest over time. Keeping critical projects like this one affordable through state and federal investment is key to sustaining the momentum we’re seeing throughout California toward a more secure water future through improved and expanded water and wastewater infrastructure.”

About the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is a department of the City and County of San Francisco. It delivers drinking water to 2.7 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area, collects and treats wastewater for the City and County of San Francisco, and meets 75% of the electricity demand in San Francisco. The SFPUC’s mission is to provide customers with high quality, efficient and reliable water, power, and sewer services in a manner that values environmental and community interests, and sustains the resources entrusted to the agency's care. Learn more at sfpuc.gov.