After more than 10 years of work, Hayward has met a regional goal of removing 100 percent of trash from the City’s stormwater system before it reaches San Francisco Bay. 

The goal of capturing and cleaning out all trash from the stormwater system is a provision in permits issued by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, which regulates stormwater runoff in the Bay Area.

Just half of municipalities whose storm systems are regulated by Regional Water Board met the goal by the July 1, 2025, deadline.

Hayward met the grade through a huge undertaking that required coordination with the Water Board, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Alameda County Flood Control District. All in all, the City installed more than 600 filters in storm drain outlets and six large subterranean trash capture devices at strategic downstream locations.

The effort required millions of dollars in engineering and construction—much of it funded through state and federal grants and none of it coming from the City of Hayward General Fund that pays for core municipal services.