Orange Memorial Park Regional Stormwater Capture Project Ribbon Cutting

From left to right: prior SSF Mayor – Karol Matsumoto, SSF City Manager – Mike Futrell, SSF Vice Mayor – Beunaflor Nicolas, Caltrans District 4 Chief Deputy District Director – Dave Ambuehl, SSF Mayor – Mark Nogales, Assemblymember – Kevin Mullin, C/CAG Chair – Davina Hurt, Councilmember – Mark Addiego, San Mateo County Supervisor – Dave Pine, SSF Councilmember – James Coleman.

An exciting new stormwater project was recently completed in May 2022! The Orange Memorial Park Regional Stormwater Capture Project is designed to capture, treat, and filter stormwater to remove contaminants. The water will then be used to irrigate the park and recharge the groundwater aquifer.

200 Million Gallons of Water

*Image from the Orange Memorial Park Educational Placard*

Rain falling east of the Santa Cruz Mountain range drains into the San Francisco Bay. Also called stormwater runoff, this rain may carry trash and other pollutants with it as it flows to the San Francisco Bay. One of the waterways that carries this runoff is Colma Creek, which drains over 6,500 acres of land in Colma, Daly City, Pacifica, South San Francisco, and San Bruno. A portion of the Colma Creek runs through Orange Memorial Park where the newly completed regional stormwater capture project will be able to capture, treat, and reuse 200 million gallons of water each year!

*Schematic of water flow and cleaning processes in and around Orange Memorial Park courtesy of the City of South San Francisco.*

What Are The Benefits of the Orange Memorial Park Project?

This project, the first-of-its-kind in Northern California, will divert and capture stormwater from the Colma Creek Watershed.

Some of the benefits of this project include:

Now that the project is completed, what’s next?

Construction on this stormwater capture project began in early 2021 and was completed May 2022, with the official ribbon cutting happening on June 10, 2022. The project was led and constructed by the City of South San Francisco, with funding provided by Caltrans.

In 2023, Phase 2 of this project will begin. In line with the City’s Capital Improvement Program, the sports field above the water treatment facility will be rebuilt with improvements. More information on Phase 2 can be found here.