Wastewater agencies around the San Francisco Bay Area are designing and implementing innovative technologies and strategies to address sea level rise and other climate change adaptation needs, including nature-based solutions. As their work moves beyond the walls of the treatment plant, wastewater agencies are finding that more community interaction and engagement is needed than ever before. These new practices require different skills, including training to support wastewater agencies in adopting best practices for racial and social justice, both within and outside their agencies.
The Transforming Urban Water (TRUW) initiative advances innovative nature-based solutions for the San Francisco Bay shoreline in conjunction with wastewater treatment facilities. The initiative is led by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, in close collaboration with the East Bay Dischargers Authority, Oro Loma Sanitary District, San Francisco Estuary Institute and University of California Berkeley. It grew out of the development of the Oro Loma Living Laboratory, built in 2018 to study the concept of a horizontal levee and its associated benefits.