SFPUC Picks Jacobs-PCL Team for $1B Nutrient Reduction Build

Jacobs was selected by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) as the progressive design-build contractor for the Southeast Treatment Plant Nutrient Reduction Project, a $1 billion investment estimated by SFPUC, Jacobs announced on October 28, 2026. Delivered through a joint venture with PCL Construction, Inc., Jacobs will design and construct upgrades at the Southeast Treatment Plant, San Francisco’s largest wastewater facility.

PCL Construction announced the award the same day, stating that the project is being delivered through a 50/50 joint venture between PCL Construction and Jacobs Project Management, with design services provided by Jacobs Engineering, Hazen and Stantec. Construction is anticipated to be completed in 2034, according to PCL.

The Southeast Treatment Plant treats nearly 80% of the city’s wastewater. The project will upgrade the facility with advanced treatment to reduce the amount of nutrients, specifically total inorganic nitrogen, discharged from the plant. Jacobs described the Nutrient Reduction Project as one of the largest investments in nutrient reduction for San Francisco Bay to date.

Plant History and Permit Requirements

According to the commission’s procurement record for the contract, designated RFP DB-141, the Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant was built in 1952 and is rated to treat 85.4 million gallons per day of wastewater during dry weather. In July 2024, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted the Nutrient Watershed Permit, which reduces the amount of nutrients, specifically total inorganic nitrogen, discharged from the plant into San Francisco Bay. The record states that to comply with the permit’s 3,300 kg/d load and SFPUC’s commitment of 15 mg/L of total inorganic nitrogen in the effluent, the commission will need to upgrade the plant with nutrient reduction treatment within the existing facility.

SFPUC advertised the request for proposals on August 13, 2025, with proposals due October 17, 2025. Only two pre-qualified firms were eligible to submit proposals: the Jacobs Project Management Company and PCL Construction joint venture, and Sundt Corporation, Inc. with Carollo Engineers, Inc. as its lead designer. The bid record states the evaluation was completed on November 21, 2025, and that the Jacobs-PCL joint venture would be recommended for contract award. The solicitation set LBE requirements of 10.00% for the design phase and 13.00% for the construction phase, and listed an estimated direct cost of construction of $600 million.

The commission’s nutrient-reduction program page budgets the project at $1.47 billion within its approved FY 2025-2034 ten-year capital plan. SFPUC calls the project the most prominent in that plan and the largest and most consequential investment in nutrient reduction by a Bay Area utility to date. The $1.47 billion figure is the commission’s capital-plan budget, distinct from the $1 billion investment estimate cited in the contractors’ announcements and the solicitation’s $600 million estimated direct cost of construction.

San Francisco is the only coastal city in California with a combined sewer system that collects and treats both wastewater and stormwater in the same network of pipes, according to the commission’s sewer system overview. SFPUC operates two of the 37 wastewater treatment plants across the region that discharge into San Francisco Bay, and it participates in a coalition of wastewater utilities, regulators and scientists studying the bay and assessing the level to which nutrients, including nitrogen, should be reduced to protect the health of the bay.

The commission is separately building the Treasure Island Water Resource Recovery Facility, scheduled for completion in 2026. SFPUC’s program page states the facility was designed with nutrient reduction facilities, including full-stream nitrogen reduction, which can reduce around 80% of nitrogen during the tertiary treatment process.

Delivery Team and Track Records

Ankur Talwar, PCL Civil district manager in the West, said the project is the type of complex infrastructure work where progressive design-build can add significant value: “Rather than beginning with a predetermined solution, we have the opportunity to bring the owner, designers and builders together early to evaluate multiple treatment technologies and determine the approach that best meets the facility’s long-term needs.” Talwar said that collaboration will be critical as the joint venture works within an active treatment plant.

SFPUC Assistant General Manager for Infrastructure Stephen Robinson said: “This ambitious project will remake the heart of San Francisco’s largest treatment plant while that plant continues to operate, handling 80% of the city’s wastewater.” Robinson said the new treatment process will meet updated state and federal environmental requirements, and that Jacobs and PCL have worked with the commission on major wastewater projects before.

Jacobs Executive Vice President Tom Meinhart said the company brings decades of experience delivering critical wastewater infrastructure projects for the commission, including upgrades at the Southeast Treatment Plant. Jacobs said it will support the SFPUC’s Social Impact Partnership by investing in local community health, education, and workforce training and development initiatives, and that the project will provide opportunities for local businesses and residents.

Jacobs states it has more than 25 years of water design-build experience and has delivered more than 150 design-build projects and programs, including modernizations at the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility and the Donald C. Tillman Advanced Water Purification Facility. PCL states it is currently delivering two additional design-build projects for the commission: the Treasure Island Water Resource Recovery Facility and the Southeast Plant Biogas Utilization project.