SFPUC Approves New $1.3 Billion Bayview Waste Treatment Plant

SFPUC Approves New $1.3 Billion Bayview Waste Treatment PlantPhoto: Marcin Wichary/Flickr
Nathan Falstreau
Published on March 23, 2018

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) has approved a $1.3 billion proposal to replace the city's largest and oldest wastewater facility, which treats approximately 80 percent of the city's sewage, the Chronicle reports. 

Constructed in 1952, the Southeast Treatment Plant (750 Phelps St.) in the Bayview transports wastewater through a network of transport and storage facilities, sewers and five pump stations.

On any given day, the plant treats more than 57 million gallons of wastewater and works with 160 wet tons of biosolids. During rainy weather, the facility can treat up to 250 million gallons of wastewater daily.

The commission began a multi-year environmental review process in 2008 to address needed upgrades. The project's most crucial component is the the replacement of the plant's biosolids digesters, which will now move forward. This component is part of the Commission's $6.9 billion plan to modernize the city's sewage infrastructure. 

To gather community input, SFMTA established the Southeast Digesters Task Force, stakeholders who offered feedback and raised concerns about air quality and noise. Members also advised on the design and placement of the new digesters, along with architectural improvements and "overall community integration."

Photo: Meaghan M. Mitchell/Hoodline

Today, the digesters are less than 100 feet from nearby homes, but the new units will be constructed closer to an adjacent Caltrain right of way, making them "1,000 feet from the closest home," reported the Chronicle. Instead of floating covers, the new structures will be permanently capped.

Structural and seismic retrofits, upgrades to oxygen and influent pumps and cosmetic architectural and landscaping improvements are included in the upgrades. 

As for additional funding, the Commission is working with FEMA to obtain a $625 million low-interest loan through the federal Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, along with $651 million loan from the California State Revolving Loan Fund.

Construction for the new facilities should begin later this fall and last until spring 2024, according to the Commission.