Frying a Turkey for Thanksgiving? SFPUC's SFGreasecycle wants your grease!

Fried turkey is good, but you definitely don't want to pour the oil down the drain. Do you want to see what happens if you do that? Clogged sewers like this!

Thanksgiving is all about being with family, eating and having a good time. Come the next day, drop your used cooking oil at one of the following sites in San Francisco:

COSTCO WAREHOUSE - 450 10th St (at Bryant)
Friday: 9am-8:30pm / Saturday: 9:30am-7pm / Sunday: 10am-6pm
Select WHOLE FOODS STORES
* FRANKLIN –1765 California St (at Franklin)
* POTRERO HILL: 450 Rhode Island St. (at 17th St.).
* SOMA – 399 4th Street (at Harrison)
DOGPATCH BIOFUELS – 765 Pennsylvania Ave (between 22nd & 23rd St)
Friday: 11am-7pm / Saturday: 11am-4pm / closed on Sunday
HAIGHT ASHBURY NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL RECYCLING CENTER (HANC) – 755 Frederick St (at Arguello.)
Friday-Saturday: 9am-4pm / Sunday: 12pm- 4pm.
HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE DROP OFF CENTER –Recycle Rd (at 401 & 501 Tunnel)
Saturday: 8am-4pm / closed on Friday and Sunday
WALDEN HOUSE – Entrance for drop off on 330 Newhall St (at Evans)
ONLY on Friday, November 27: 11am-3pm

If you need more information, visit www.SFGreasecycle.org.

THANKS for GIVING your grease!

How fun is that?

Scores of hydrologists, landscape architects, urban planners and stormwater activists converged at San Francisco State University last Friday (November 13)… to play games.

“Games?” you may ask, “When there’s so much stormwater management-related work to do in San Francisco? For shame!”

Don’t hate.

These were serious games undertaken during a five hour Urban Watershed Planning Charrette – the City’s second such event!

Charrette-goers broke into groups and poured over maps of the City’s western watersheds, placing “game pieces” on the best places to implement Low Impact Design technologies like bioretention, filtration, permeable paving, and rainwater harvesting. Wildly fun!

Top solutions from this green infrastructure “jam session” will be presented to SF communities and may be folded into San Francisco’s sewer system overhaul.

For more information on Low Impact Design (LID) technologies or previous urban watershed planning events visit: http://stormwater.sfwater.org/ (details from Friday’s charrette will be posted online in March, 2010).

Live to play. Play to live. Excelsior!

Don’t Let This Winter’s Rain Go to Waste! The SFPUC Continues its Popular Discounted Rain Barrel Program

Starting this coming Saturday, November 14, while supplies last, San Francisco residents can purchase up to ten fully outfitted 60-gallon rain barrels at steep discounts, compliments of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC’s) Wastewater Enterprise.

Purchase your first barrel for $89 and each additional barrel for only $69 – that’s more than 40% off the regular retail price of $119!*

The re-purposed rain barrels, originally used for food storage, are available at The Urban Farmer Store (San Francisco location only): 2833 Vicente Street, at 40th Avenue. Please note that The Urban Farmer Store is closed on Sundays.

For details please visit: http://stormwater.sfwater.org/ (select “Rainwater Harvesting”), or write to: kbriggs@sfwater.org.

Old Creeks in S.F.

Check out this informative page with pictures about former creeks in the Mission on Burrito Justice. It has maps dating back to 1859 and is followed by a great discussion by some pretty smart people. Click on the title or HERE!

The SFPUC and nifty engineers at the Dept. of Public Works also worked with the Oakland Museum of California to develop a cool map for download that highlights all the old San Francisco creeks and watersheds! It is called the Creek and Watershed Map of San Francisco.

"Rain drops keep falling on my head"

...says the catch basin, and, "please, keep me litter-free."

The weather forecast is predicting rain in San Francisco tonight (Thursday, November 5) and Friday, November 6. Cleaning catch basins (storm drains) prior to a rain event is especially important. Leaves and street litter can clog the catch basins and may cause street flooding. We have already had two major rain events in mid-October in San Francisco where catch basins were clogged with debris, and rainwater couldn't flow through.

Put on your gloves, use a rake to remove debris above surface and place leaves in your green cart and the rest in garbage bins. Never attempt to remove debris below surface. To report sewer emergencies, clogged catch basins after you remove debris from above surface, call San Francisco’s 3-1-1 or visit the online self service portal at www.sfgov.org/311.

Your efforts for cleaning the catch basins will benefit your neighborhood and our City.

Wait! Read here to learn more about the do's and dont's before/during/after a storm.