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SFPUC backs design‑build‑operate delivery for Treasure Island wastewater plant, authorizes staff to seek Board of Supervisors approval
Summary
The commission approved pursuing a design‑build‑operate (DBO) approach for a new Treasure Island wastewater treatment plant to reduce local staffing burdens, transfer operational risk, and produce a flexible facility sized at roughly 1.3 MGD with a construction estimate of about $130 million; staff will seek an ordinance from the Board of Supervisors to permit the operating component.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission voted on April 23 to advance a design‑build‑operate delivery method for a new wastewater treatment plant on Treasure Island, instructing staff to seek Board of Supervisors approval for the approach.
Greg Norby, Assistant General Manager for the Wastewater Enterprise, explained the recommendation to pursue a DBO contract to deliver design, construction and operation of the new plant. He said the existing Treasure Island utilities were built by the U.S. Navy, are aged and not held to PUC utility standards, and that operating them under the current arrangement consumes about 10 full‑time equivalent staff who are needed system‑wide. "We want to provide efficient, reliable service for both wastewater treatment and water recycling to the new Treasure Island community," Norby said, and recommended the DBO model to concentrate risk and guarantee performance under a single contract.
Don Birmingham (project manager) presented conceptual details: staff is planning a plant sized at about 1.3 million gallons per day average with a 3.9 MGD peak, a membrane bioreactor (MBR) process, and on‑island wetlands used as hydraulic retention and habitat. Birmingham said the plant would not treat biosolids on island at initial build‑out; biosolids will be thickened and hauled to an existing plant until the population and throughput justify on‑site treatment. The construction estimate for the plant alone was given as about $130,000,000; the total DBO contract value is expected to be higher once operations and long‑term services are included.
Commissioners pressed staff on environmental and workforce issues: how the PUC will use the RFP/bridging documents to require carbon‑performance outcomes, training opportunities and local workforce development, and whether the contract length (proposed 10 years plus two 5‑year options) preserves an opportunity to transition operations back to the PUC. Staff said bridging documents and performance requirements will allow the commission to specify environmental outcomes, staff training provisions and other contract terms before issuing an RFP.
The commission approved the recommendation by voice vote, and staff will now seek an ordinance from the Board of Supervisors to enable the operating portion of the DBO contract and proceed with stakeholder discussions and an RFP process. Next steps include completing the conceptual engineering report, finalizing bridging specifications for the RFP and issuing procurement documents later in 2019.
