A sewage spill blanketed the inner Mission with a faint sent of fecal matter this morning. Pipes overflowed due to last night's rain. Ew. Gross. According to KRON 4 Morning News, the scene at 2100 Folsom is "stinky," but has since been cleaned up. Firefighters, Department of Public Works crews, and neighbors helped wipe up the mess. more ›

Last night's rain caused a power outage in the Sunset District around 8:30 p.m. that left some 5,800 PG&E customers in the dark and knocked out power to part of the city's wastewater treatment system. According to the Ocean Beach Bulletin, without power the treatment system evacuated partly treated wastewater in the waters near Lincoln Way, Vicente Street and Lake Merced. Due to the accidental sewage evacuation, the SF Public Utilities Commission has posted warnings to avoid contact with the waters along Ocean Beach and Fort Funston. more ›

A woman's prized gold necklace, which she accidentally flushed down the toilet last fall, was returned to her this week by a San Rafael sanitation worker who fished it out of a city sewer pipe. Yes, he washed it off first. more ›

Matier & Ross report on a frightening and malodorous problem caused by San Francisco's low-flow toilets, and it's costing the city millions of dollars. Behold: more ›

If you're midway through your lunchtime Lean Cuisine, you might want to wait before reading the following. See, 850 Bryant stank to high heaven on Thursday, and not because of this most recent scandal. The Chronicle reports, "As much as two inches of raw sewage flooded five courtrooms at the San Francisco Hall of Justice today after a jail inmate flushed a bedsheet down a toilet." Carpets will have to be replaced. Gross. more ›

Food fight! more ›

Hope you didn't take advantage of the nice weather by surfing, swimming, or engaging in other open water activities. It is estimated that during the past stormy weeks 630,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the bay in 47 different places. This was caused by old, cracked sewer lines... more ›

Last year's ballot measure to change the Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Facility's name in honor of George W. Bush is undoubtedly partially responsible for the influx of tourists checking out the inner-workings of the San Francisco sewage system. Newsweek reports that offbeat (and free) destinations are increasing in popularity, as we're all becoming more budget-conscious. A commenter on Newsweek also credits Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" for demonstrating that weird and nitty-gritty places can be fun. Our most memorable field trip in middle school was when our environmental science class visited the local waste facility in the mid-80s. We were so ahead of our time! more ›

Repairs to a faulty pipe that has leaked an estimated 300,000 gallons of shit, piss, and miscellaneous into the Bay will be fixed later today. According to KCBS, "A pipe that ruptured at the Fort Baker treatment plant has been pouring about 200 gallons of sewage into the waters off Sausalito since around 1 p.m. Tuesday, said the district’s general manager, Bob Simmons." He goes on to say that "rough surf may have contributed to the break." So, you know, stay out water along the Fort Baker shoreline until further notice. Ew. In related news, during a hearing today, investigators told the National Transportation Safety Board Wednesday that the Cosco Busan's pilot and captain had "poor communication" regarding the Cosco Busan crash. The Cosco Busan dumped 53,000 gallons of fuel oil into the San Francisco Bay in November 2007. more ›

Wayne Pickering (AKA, Brian McConnell), head of the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco formed to honor George W. Bush -- which, at the risk of boasting, SFist was the first to tell you about back in March -- just contacted SFist to let us know that commission's ordinance initiative to changing the name of the Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Facility to the "George W Bush Sewage Plant" will, in fact, be on the November ballot. More details to come. Stay tuned. more ›

As most of you know by now, the George W Bush Sewage Plant proposal--news that SFist broke way back in March (yay, us!)--is making the rounds all across this great country of ours. And after landing on FOX News last week, the steady stream of hate mail makes for a fantastic read. Here are two of our favorite,most thought-provoking rebuttals so far. Ahem: more ›

According to Marin County officials, about "1,500 gallons of raw sewage" was dumped into the San Francisco Bay today near Point San Quentin. Grody. According to the Gate: more ›

Oh shit. more ›