Part of the issue, according to the lawsuit, is that San Francisco Public Utilities Commission closed rather than made needed repairs to a facility on Pierce street called an outfall, which allows excess water to go into the bay rather than escape through manholes onto the street. The outfall was closed before a storm in October 2021 when 4.5 million gallons of sanitary sewage overflows inundated Marina Boulevard.
“When they closed the Pierce Street outfall they knew it was going to have consequences and they didn’t compensate for it,” said Jeff Ruch, Pacific director of the advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a frequent critic of SFPUC.