San Francisco has been sued by federal authorities for discharging billions of gallons of untreated sewage onto its streets and beaches each year, which puts swimmers, surfers, and other people at risk of coming into contact with dangerous bacteria.
The federal lawsuit, filed Wednesday, argues that illegal discharges into the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay, and its tributaries amount to violations of the Clean Water Act as well as state environmental laws. The city has also failed to properly plan for, or respond to, sewage and pollutant overflows and backups in homes, yards, streets, and sidewalks, according to the lawsuit.
Since 2016, San Francisco has discharged an average of 1.8 billion gallons of combined sewage annually into the water, from sources near Ocean Beach and Crissy Field. Other periods, especially during the wet season, have been far worse: From October 2022 to March 2023, the suit alleges that the City discharged over four billion gallons of combined sewage.
Exposure to sewage can cause mild illnesses such as nausea and vomiting, as well as life-threatening ailments such as cholera, dysentery, infectious hepatitis, and severe gastroenteritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children, the elderly, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women are at greater risk, according to medical experts.
The Justice Department filed the complaint at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State of California. Attorneys for the plaintiffs include representatives of the state, such as California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
The city and county is the named defendant and the suit specifically alleges missteps and noncompliance by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which oversees water, wastewater, and electric power services.
The lawsuit targets overflows during rainfall, when San Francisco’s sewer systems can become overwhelmed by wastewater before it’s treated. The city combines stormwater-sewer systems and sewage treatment plants. The overflows often contain suspended solids, microorganisms, toxic pollutants, floatables, oxygen-demanding organic compounds, oil and grease, and other pollutants, according to the lawsuit.
The SFPUC and San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s office didn’t immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify the multiple plaintiffs and to denote that while snowmelt is listed as a general cause of wastewater overcapacities, it is not mentioned as a factor in the specific allegations against the City and County of San Francisco.
