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Politics & Government

City Settles Lawsuit Over Sewage Spill Rate

The city council approved a settlement with Baykeeper to reduce the amount of sewage spilling into and polluting the Bay.

The South San Francisco City Council has approved a settlement with local environmental group San Francisco Baykeeper to reduce the city's sewage spill rate into the Bay.

Baykeeper, which protects the water quality of the San Francisco Bay, had brought a lawsuit against the city in early 2010 for a dispute regarding the elevated amount of sewage spilling into the Bay from South San Francisco.

"It's a problem that's out of sight, out of mind," said Baykeeper Staff Attorney Jason Flanders. "We look at what good system performance should be...The city's sewage spill rate was maybe even over four times what we would consider appropriate."

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At the time the lawsuit was filed, the spill rate was 14 spills per 100 miles of sewer line per year, according to Flanders.

"That was double the statewide average," he said.

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The city hopes to eventually reduce its rate to only three spills over 100 miles each year, said Flanders.

The settlement approved March 10 requires the city to fund a $300,000 sewer lateral replacement grant program, allowing South San Francisco residents to apply for a $2,500 grant to replace defective home-to-sewer connections.

In addition, the city will provide $150,000 to the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment to fund non-Baykeeper projects to benefit Bay water quality, according to Thursday's statement.

“While the city’s collection system outperforms many others, the programs in the consent decree will assist the city in becoming one of the best, while maintaining a reasonable rate structure,” said Terry White, Director of Public Works.

At the time Baykeeper brought the suit, the City had already invested more than $70 million in capital improvements to increase the capacity of its wastewater infrastructure, according to the statement. Flanders believes that the settlement will allow for even more successful programs. 

Regionwide, Baykeeper noticed that Bay Area has very high sewage spill rates. Recently the group's response has been to target Bay Area cities with its Sick of Sewage campaign, bringing numerous Clean Water Act lawsuits against the cities in an effort to reduce the amount of sewage they spill into the Bay each year.

“In 2010, over a third of sewage spills statewide occurred in the Bay Area,” said Flanders in a statement. “We’re pleased to have secured an agreement with the City of South San Francisco that will reduce sewage spills to the Bay and help improve the overall health of our watershed.”

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