Keeping Sewage Out of the Bay
Baykeeper's Sick of Sewage Initiative
After more than a decade of working to stop sewage spills to the Bay, San Francisco Baykeeper launched a Sick of Sewage Initiative in 2008 to rein in the Bay’s sewage spill problem. The Sick of Sewage Initiative tackles both immediate sewage spill incidents and the systemic problem of inadequate sewage infrastructure in Bay Area communities, through investigative water quality monitoring, legal action, advocacy for new laws and public education. Baykeeper is holding the worst polluters accountable and advocating for a region-wide upgrade to sewer systems in the Bay Area to keep sewage out of our homes, streets, creeks and the Bay.
Legal Action: Enforcing the Clean Water Act
San Francisco Baykeeper uses the citizen suit provision of the Clean Water Act to hold polluters accountable for illegal sewage spills. We have previously leveraged sewage infrastructure upgrades in the cities of Vallejo, Richmond, Burlingame, Burlingame Hills and Hillsborough. We currently have a series of active lawsuits in San Mateo County and in the East Bay against the nine satellite cities of the East Bay Municipal Utility District.
Investigative Water Quality Monitoring: Finding Sewage Contamination
Baykeeper runs a bacteria monitoring program to gather data about sewage contamination in the Bay. Baykeeper staff collect and analyze samples from storm drains and creeks that drain into the Bay, providing data that supports our policy advocacy and legal actions.
Policy Reform: The California Clean Water Act
Baykeeper works at the local, regional and statewide level to support legislation and policy that will reduce sewage contamination in our waterways by encouraging and responsible maintenance and infrastructure improvements for sewage treatment plants, sewer pipes and private lateral lines.
In 2008, Baykeeper sponsored a bill in the California Legislature would have improved the transparency and accountability of sewage operations across the state by identify failing sewer systems that pollute our neighborhoods and waterways. The bill, the California Clean Water Act, passed the California Legislature but was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger in September 2008. The bill would have required the State Water Board to give a letter grade of A, B, C or F to every sewage treatment plant and collection system in California. This system would have brought attention to sewer systems, held sewage operators accountable for sewage spills and helped keep California communities informed about sewage pollution in their cities. Despite the bill’s veto, Baykeeper continues to work towards each of these goals every day.
Public Education: How You Can Help Stop Sewage Spills
Baykeeper works in Bay Area communities to increase the public’s understanding of how our daily actions impact our sewer systems and can lead to sewage spills. There are easy changes you can make at home to protect San Francisco Bay and our community from sewage pollution. Read Baykeeper’s Ten Tips to help prevent sewage spills and overflows to the Bay.
Every holiday season, San Francisco Baykeeper and the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) work together to raise awareness about sewage backups caused by fats, oil and grease and have developed recommendations to help individuals stop winter sewage spills. Read more about our FOG Campaign and learn where to drop off used cooking oil.