The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) first and California’s largest ultraviolet (UV) water treatment facility, the Tesla Treatment Plant, has earned its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (the nation’s lead governing body on sustainable design). With a year’s data gathered to showcase its performance capabilities, the Tesla Treatment Facility was recognized for its ability to effectively and sustainably treat up to 315 million gallons of drinking water daily for approximately 2.6 million San Francisco Bay Area residents. The Tesla Facility was built by PCL Construction Inc. and designed by Stantec consulting.

“Our goal for this project was to be a model for sustainable infrastructure while reflecting the environmental stewardship of our agency and city,” said Bijan Ahmadzadeh, SFPUC regional construction manager.

Generated from the 20,000-sq-ft facility located in Tracy, Calif., the Tesla plant and its LEED accreditation is supported by several project features and recent milestones:

• San Francisco Served: The first summer’s daily treatment production totaled 295 million gallons of water provided to Bay Area residents. The Tesla UV Treatment Facility became fully operational in 2011.
• Energy Savings: The facility reduces approximately $50,000 in annual energy costs through favorable PG and E rates by switching from secondary power source to primary power source. Additional savings is realized via the renewable onsite energy generated from a 132-panel solar array that is situated on its rooftop.
• Water-Wise Landscaping: Throughout the Tesla grounds, water efficient planting or “xeriscaping” was utilized for dry or drought conditions. Strategies included the use of use of decomposed granite, decorative aggregate base and low water using plants to achieve decreased water consumption and a sustainable planting scheme.
• Growing Accolades: The LEED Silver accreditation is the most recent in a series of industry accolades awarded to the Tesla facility, including recognition as a “Project of the Year” by the Construction Management Association of America, Northern California and this month the Western Council of Construction Consumers awards for “Exceptional Project” and “Innovative Solution.”  

The campus-style facility consists of a 20,000 sq ft reinforced concrete UV Building with 12, 48 in. diameter, 51 mgd Calgon Reactors; chemical injection for Sodium Hypochlorite, Fluoride and CO2 with a 10,000 sq ft Chemical Storage Building; a 2,400-sq-ft Operations and Laboratory Building with a Control Room; an Electrical Building; two 1.5  MW Standby Generators; two carbon dioxide tanks; three 1200 kVa flywheel type UPS systems designed to maintain the integrity of the system at all times; and large diameter site piping and valves. The Tesla Treatment Facility project is one of 81 projects included in the SFPUC $4.6 billion Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) to repair, replace and seismically retrofit aging infrastructure and other facilities within the Hetch Hetchy Water System.