"At the Southeast Treatment Plant in Bayview, where nearly 80 percent of San Francisco's wastewater is treated, residents say a strong smell hung over the neighborhood for about 20 years. "It was real bad," said Cynthia Yannacone, who has lived in Bayview since 2004. "It's like a bathroom, you know, it was really nasty." When her cousin visited, she said he would often joke, "I know I'm close to the house because of the smell.""
"Keyanna Johnson agreed. "You could smell it blocks away," driving off the freeway and onto the streets near the plant, the 20-year-old resident said. "Even if your windows are up and your vents are closed, you're still gagging in the car." But in September of last year, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission finished a $717 million project to upgrade the plant's headworks, where wastewater first travels for treatment."
San Francisco's Southeast Treatment Plant in Bayview produced a persistent neighborhood odor for roughly 20 years, experienced blocks away and described as gag-inducing even with windows and vents closed. A $717 million headworks upgrade completed in September improved the facility that removes debris and protects downstream pipes, and nearby residents reported a noticeable reduction in smell. Additional upgrades to sewage digesters, which convert organic waste into biogas and produce odors, remain in progress. The headworks and digester work are two of six projects in a $5 billion-plus overhaul that includes new buildings and a nutrient reduction project.
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