San Francisco Fats, Oils, and Grease Reduction Program

Improperly disposed fats, oils, and grease (FOG) generated by restaurants and residents create a huge burden on the wastewater infrastructure throughout the city. When fats, oils, and grease used for cooking are poured down the drain, they accumulate and stick to plumbing and sewer lines. As a result, grease blockages occur leading to backups that cause sanitary sewage overflows or the release of thousands of gallons of untreated wastewater from manholes.

A unique working group was formed between the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), Health Department, and Sewer Operations to address this problem. The Health Department provided a database of licensed restaurants and food-handling businesses. Sewer Operations provided a database of all grease-related sewer work orders for the past 12 months.

With this data, SFPUC will use GIS to determine the areas with the highest concentration of restaurants and the most grease-related sewer complaints. The specially trained wastewater control inspectors of SFPUC will target these hot spots for intensive facility inspections and pollution prevention activities. To determine the effectiveness of this reduction program, wastewater sampling for FOG will be conducted at key manholes downstream of this source control effort.