Fats, Oils & Grease (FOG) Control

We work with restaurants and food service establishments to help prevent these pollutants from entering and clogging our sewer system.

Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) can be a major problem for our City’s sewers. When poured down the drain, FOG hardens inside sewer pipes, constricting wastewater flow and clogging the pipes. This can lead to sewer overflows onto City streets, which is a very expensive problem. In fact, we spend millions of dollars each year to clear grease-clogged pipes. 

Restaurants and other food service establishments are a significant source of FOG, and our FOG Control Ordinance aims to prevent these pollutants from entering the sewer system. We require San Francisco restaurants and other food service establishments that cook food, and therefore have grease in their wastewater discharges, to install grease capturing equipment (i.e. traps or interceptors). The FOG Control Ordinance provides clear guidelines on exactly what type of grease capturing equipment restaurants must be installed, and it includes standards to ensure that the equipment is well maintained and serviced.

Complying with the Ordinance

To help restaurants comply with the FOG Control Ordinance, our wastewater inspectors will perform the following:

• Conduct inspections
• Assign each food service establishment a FOG Discharger Category number (1, 2 or 3) that reflects their potential to discharge grease to the sewer system, and
• Notify the establishment of their compliance requirements. Establishments can use this FOG Discharger Checklist to determine their FOG Discharger Category, and then refer to the factsheets below to find out their compliance requirements.

The FOG Control Ordinance requires the installation of this equipment. Establishments must schedule a visit by an inspector and receive a notification of the equipment installation requirements. 

Savings Opportunity

If your restaurant is required to install a grease removal device, we offer lease/loan options to help reduce costs. See these fact sheets for more information: fact sheets in English | fact sheets in Chinese | fact sheets in Spanish

After you install grease capturing equipment, fill out this Installation Verification Form to receive a 14.2% reduction on the sewer service charge portion of your water/sewer bill.