As our rainy season begins here in San Francisco, you may wonder where does it all go? The Bruce Flynn Pump Station, located across from the Southeast Treatment Plant (SEP) at Evans Avenue and Rankin Street, is a critical component to the City’s combined sewer system.

Historically, the pump station has operated during wet weather – helping to pump the increased wastewater flows that swell from the added rain that falls on San Francisco. As part of the new Headworks Facility Project, the Bruce Flynn Pump Station has been upgraded to operate year-round to ensure our system continues to protect public health and San Francisco Bay.

Born in 1954, Bruce Flynn was an architect who worked for the City of San Francisco for 14 years and was instrumental in construction and renovation projects throughout San Francisco. He designed the pump station at the Oceanside Treatment Plant and disability access to public buildings; as well as planned renovations and seismic upgrades of several City fire stations. In 1996, he died of an AIDS-related illness at the age of 42.

The Bruce Flynn Pump Station Upgrades earned the 2021 Project Achievement Award by the Construction Management Association of America, an industry association—representing more than 16,000 members—dedicated to the practice of professional construction management, with the goal to improve our nation’s infrastructure.

On an average year, over 10 billion gallons of rain falls on San Francisco. The recently completed modifications provides a much needed upgrade to the wet-weather pump station, originally built in 1996, to an all-weather pump station, enhancing reliability in wet weather events and increasing its capacity up to 150 million gallons per day of combined wastewater.

This accomplishment, along with the other projects underway at SEP are part of an extreme makeover to transform this aging pollution treatment facility into a state-of-the-art resource recovery center. The new Headworks Facility will be able to handle 250 million gallons per day and use innovations to reduce odors, create resilience to protect against earthquakes and sea level rise.

In 2019, the Headworks Facility Project earned the Envision Gold Award for Sustainable Infrastructure, designated by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI). To reach Gold status, a project must demonstrate that it delivers a heightened range of environmental, social, and economic benefits to the host and affected communities. This construction is part of our investments to keep services affordable and the San Francisco sewer system flowing. We continue to rebuild today for a better tomorrow. Learn more about construction at the Southeast Treatment Plant by visiting our website.