Bay Keepers

Today, utility providers around the world are being forced to confront a 21st century problem: How to more effectively manage their regions? natural resources to supply water and other critical services to their customers, while contending with aging infrastructure, population growth and limited resources. Many of these issues require a 21st century solution. For many utilities, challenges related to resources like water can be better understood and managed by gaining insight through a more dynamic, integrated asset management system that provides greater visibility into maintenance operations and physical infrastructure in order to help further reduce water pollution.

One region that distinctly illustrates these issues is the City of San Francisco, which is bordered on three sides by the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay ? a city literally surrounded by water. Thanks to the efforts of the 1,800 employees and the facilities of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) ? a public service which provides water, wastewater and municipal power services to San Francisco ? these waters are spared from the pollution that the city drains into its sewers and runoff basins. During dry periods, the 100-year-old division treats an average of 80 million to 90 million gallons of wastewater per day, but this number can peak during periods of wet weather when SFPUC can treat up to 370 million gallons of combined wastewater and storm runoff.