April is Climate Action Month. We have just seen one of the wettest winters in memory and experienced firsthand how extreme storms can affect our city, our region, and our state. Climate change is a problem we all must tackle collectively. Installing green infrastructure might be one way you can help—while potentially lowering your sewer bill.

Green infrastructure, like rain gardens, green roofs, rainwater harvesting, and permeable pavement, captures stormwater runoff from rain that falls on our rooftops, driveways, streets, and sidewalks. During heavy storms, this relieves the burden on our city’s combined sewer system, which treats both stormwater runoff and sewage before releasing them into the bay or ocean. By adding plants and soil to the urban landscape, green infrastructure also reduces urban heat island effect, provides natural habitat for wildlife, cleans our air, and makes our streets more beautiful and enjoyable.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)’s Green Infrastructure Grant Program is a resource for property owners, providing up to $2 million per project to install green infrastructure that captures stormwater runoff from at least 0.5 acres of impermeable surface. Since its launch in 2019, the program has provided almost $18 million to 17 projects, including public schools, churches, an art collective, and others.

Apply for a Green Infrastructure Grant now: the Spring 2023 Grant Cycle is open, and applications are due Friday, June 2. Visit sfpuc.org/GIGrants to learn more and apply.

The SFPUC is also launching a limited pilot program to provide grant funding for the installation of green infrastructure projects on small residential properties. To receive more information on the new pilot program, please fill out this interest form to join our mailing list and be notified of the application details.

Proposed Water and Sewer Rates and Green Infrastructure

The SFPUC is proposing to update water and sewer rates, as well as the way sewer rates are calculated. If approved, the new rates and structure will be effective July 1, 2023.

To more equitably allocate the costs of managing stormwater, the SFPUC’s new proposed rates package would split the sewer portion of bills into two parts: a wastewater charge and a stormwater charge. This new methodology would not change the total amount of revenue collected by the SFPUC and would be gradually phased in over seven years.

As part of this new rate package, the SFPUC is also proposing a monthly stormwater credit available to customers that capture stormwater on their property using green infrastructure—something the Green Infrastructure Grant can provide. We are proposing to calculate credits based on the area of a property that drains to green infrastructure when it rains. Larger green infrastructure projects that capture more stormwater over a larger area would receive larger credits.

Green Infrastructure Grant Program to Date

In February 2023, the SFPUC announced the awarding of $7.25 million in grants to six projects submitted during the Fall 2022 Cycle. The recipients include four San Francisco Unified School District schools, the University of California San Francisco Parnassus Campus, and Project Artaud, a member-run nonprofit artist collective in the Mission District. The projects on K-12 campuses also provide a great opportunity for education about nature and sustainability.

Recently completed grant program projects include Lafayette Elementary School in the Richmond District and Bessie Carmichael Middle School in the South of Market neighborhood, which together can manage up to 1.1 million gallons of stormwater.

When all grant projects to date are completed, they are designed to capture and divert about 11 million gallons of stormwater per year, enough to fill nearly 17 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Collectively, green infrastructure projects installed by the SFPUC, grant-funded projects, and innovative private projects developed through the Stormwater Management Ordinance have the City on track to meet its goal of capturing 1 billion gallons of stormwater using green infrastructure by 2050.

We encourage property owners to consider applying for the Green Infrastructure Grants. Visit sfpuc.org/GIGrants for more information and email us at gigrants@sfwater.org with any questions.