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.

SF Bay Oil Spill

If you are in the Bay Area you must have heard about the oil spill today. Well a lot of us in the SFPUC have been on standby just in case the oil made it's way to the S.F. shoreline. What does wastewater have to do with beach/shoreline cleanups? Well, it turns out that most of our wastewater personnel are HAZWOPER certified.(no it is not a Burger King burger!) Fortunately this spill is A LOT smaller in size. Still, bunker fuel can cause tar balls to form on the land so we want to be prepared just in case.

Remember back in 2007 when the Cosco Busan spilled more than 53,000 gallons of oil into the Bay? Guess who lead the clean-up effort at Ocean Beach! That's right... SFPUC Wastewater Enterprise.

Check out some pics from our cleanup efforts at the Ocean Beach. We helped over 1000 San Franciscans get trained and prepped for the beach cleaning. And you thought we only dealt with crap!