Wastewater includes what we flush down the toilet or empties into our home drains. In San Francisco, wastewater also refers to stormwater – the water that pours into one of the thousands of catch basins located on the corner of every City block.

The combined sewer system reduces pollution in the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean by treating urban runoff that would otherwise flow to the Bay and Ocean. There are many different pollutants in wastewater, including solid and soluble organic materials, microorganisms and pathogens, litter and debris, and metals and organic compounds. About 94 percent of wastewater comes from homes and businesses, and the rest from industry.

Sources of wastewater include:

• Homes (showers, laundry, toilets, cooking)
• Businesses (restaurants, Laundromats)
• Industry (process treatments, cooling towers)
• Street run-off (irrigation, car washes)
• Stormwater

 

Where Does IT Go? Combined Sewers Capturing Stormwater Wastewater Treatment Treatment Plants Sewer System Master Plan

Stormwater Management Stormwater Management Plan Low Impact Design Stormwater Design Guidelines Urban Watershed Planning Rainwater Harvesting Better Streets Plan Technical Assistance Demonstration Projects Maps and Resources Biosolids EMS

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