Tim Paez, a Wastewater Control Inspector for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC’s), Wastewater Enterprise, Collection System Division (CSD), helped set up wastewater sampling sites throughout San Francisco for COVID research. A "once in a lifetime" experience that he says was influenced by his early childhood and life experiences. He didn’t know it at the time, but his early years of being a Boy Scout for 10 years and getting outdoors and camping helped him contextualize the importance of the natural environment to healthy urban living. His mother worked for the U.S. Coast

Built in 1952, Southeast Treatment Plant (SEP) is the SFPUC’s largest wastewater treatment facility. Construction at SEP is underway as part of the Sewer System Improvement Project (SSIP), a more than $2-billion-dollar investment to modernize our aging sewer system. When completed, SEP will use cleaner and greener technologies, generate less odors, and be more resilient against earthquakes and sea-level rise. In compliance with local, state, and federal agencies, crews must minimize construction impact on the environment and surrounding community. These impacts include dust, diesel fumes