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The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) operates two all-weather wastewater treatment plants out of the 37 plants across the region that discharge into San Francisco Bay. Our plants operate under federal and state permits. As climate change alters conditions in the bay, we are actively participating with a coalition of Bay Area wastewater utilities, regulators, and scientists studying the bay and assessing the level to which nutrients, including nitrogen, should be reduced to protect the health of the bay. This is a regional issue, and it requires a regional approach. Leading on

Up and down California, when it rains, urban storm runoff picks up trash and contaminants as it flows untreated into the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay, and other bodies of water. San Francisco, however, doesn’t do that. While other coastal cities in California have separate sewer and stormwater systems, most of San Francisco is served by a combined sewer system. This combined system provides greater environmental benefits because it captures and treats most stormwater to the same high standards that apply to wastewater from homes and businesses before releasing it to the bay or ocean. Other