How to Successfully Utilize the Envision Rating System as a Sustainability Framework: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Southeast Plant Headworks Project

The Southeast Treatment Plant New Headworks Facility Project (Headworks Project) is a critical infrastructure project for the City of San Francisco and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's (SFPUC) multi-billion dollar capital improvement investment program. The new and improved 250-mgd headworks facility will process approximately 80% of the City's wastewater, increasing the overall resilience of the San Francisco community. This project has many recognizable long-term positive impacts on the community including but not limited to, local community economic development opportunities, improved odor control, facility aesthetics project, flood prevention, and waste reduction. In addition, major considerations and decisions made in the planning and design of the Headworks Project included maximizing the sustainable impacts, including climate change adaptability, extending facility useful life, and enabling the SFPUC to pursue its goal of using 100% of its biosolids and 100% of its biogas. SFPUC leadership favored a way to both evaluate and publicly recognize the Headworks Project's focus on sustainability and did so by utilizing the Envision rating system. This paper introduces the Envision rating system, explains the value of the credits in proactively evaluating and implementing sustainable principles in planning and design with project handoff to operations and maintenance and eventual end of useful life in mind, describes the verification process, and summarizes the value of the Envision system's guidelines and standards for wastewater facilities infrastructure.