New Permanent Artwork by Artist Norie Sato Unveiled at SFPUC Southeast Treatment Plant in Bayview

SAN FRANCISCO, October 1, 2025 – The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is thrilled to announce the completed installation and unveiling of a new permanent sculptural installation by Seattle-based artist Norie Sato at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's (SFPUC) new $717 Million Headworks Facility at the Southeast Treatment Plant in Bayview.

SFPUC hosted a ribbon cutting celebration for the new Headworks Facility on September 30, 2025, with Mayor Daniel Lurie, Supervisor Shamann Walton, SFPUC General Manager Dennis Herrera, Artist Norie Sato, and other state and local representatives in attendance. 

The sculptural installation titled Whorl Whirl: Our Circular Nature, which is 335-feet long and 35-feet high, runs along the north side of the facility on Evans Avenue, between Rankin and Quint streets. The artwork ranges in height from 27 ft. 6 in. to 30 ft. 6 in. tall and is up to 2 ft. deep. Made of painted aluminum and stainless-steel, the work evokes the vortices created by the Coriolis effect and references the complex processes of water treatment that takes place at the Southeast Treatment Plant, which processes around 80% of San Francisco’s wastewater and stormwater. 

“The San Francisco Arts Commission is proud to have worked with the SFPUC to bring Norie Sato’s vision and sculpture to life, integrating this major permanent public artwork into the new Headworks Facility at the Southeast Treatment Plant,” said Ralph Remington, Director of Cultural Affairs. “Celebrating water’s connection to nature and its important role in our daily lives, Whorl Whirl: Our Circular Nature serves a striking new gateway for the Bayview community. We thank the SFPUC for their continued partnership with the Arts Commission and artists to incorporate beautiful and meaningful works of art into the urban environment.”

About the Artwork
Wastewater treatment makes the density of life in cities possible, and Sato’s work brings attention to the wastewater processes that occur inside the facility, highlighting the critical aspects of environmental stewardship. The artwork makes visible San Francisco’s often-invisible water, power and sewer infrastructure. Using the circular vortex as a key image to express the work of this facility, the artwork celebrates the cyclical process and powerful movement of the dirty to the clean, from the “used” to the renewed, and used again. The Headworks Facility is where wastewater first enters the treatment plant and trash and debris are removed. The colors of the fins highlight the cyclical movement of water from dirty to clean, shown in the vibrantly colored fins transitioning from dark to the light, referencing the in and out, and the vibrating energy of the transition of our wastewater back into our lives. The work brings the internal machinations to the outside of the building for all to see, playfully celebrating the wastewater treatment process and its importance to daily life.

This work was made possible through San Francisco’s Art Enrichment Ordinance, also known as the 2%-for-art program, which ensures that two percent of above-ground construction costs for projects like headworks are allocated for public art.

About Artist Norie Sato
Norie Sato creates artwork for both a studio practice and for public places. She has created individual, collaborative, design team public art projects as well as various public art plans for projects both large and small. She works from site and context-driven ideas first, then finds the appropriate form and materials, striving to add meaning and human touch to the built environment. She is interested how the artwork is situated holistically within a site and environmental concerns of materials, concept, and use. She believes in working collaboratively on big picture thinking and to allow for a more seamless integration. She has worked in universities, airports, libraries, transit, city halls, convention centers, infrastructure, and parks all over the country including Seattle, WA; Scottsdale, AZ; Ames, IA; Madison, WI; San Jose, CA; Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; Miami, FL; San Diego, CA; and most recently in Dublin, CA. Her public artwork has been recognized five times by the Public Art Network’s Year in Review. 

(Image: Whorl Whirl: Our Circular Nature,2024, by Norie Sato, in process of installation, and Southeast Treatment Plant Construction Fence Temporary Public Art Program Mural ‘Modalities and Motifs’ by Afatasi The Artist, 2023. Photo credit: Ethan Kaplan Photography)

Temporary Mural Program Preceded Art Wall
In addition to the permanent art wall, from 2020-2024, the SFAC and SFPUC commissioned a series of four temporary construction fence murals that were installed along Evans Avenue during construction.

Each mural was on view for approximately one year and were created by local artists Sirron Norris, Malik Seneferu, Nancy Cato and Afatasi the Artist, celebrating the people, values, and history of the Bayview-Hunters Point community.

Public art funding for this project also provided an annual summer internship for Bayview-Hunters Point high school students in partnership with Young Community Developers and hosted by the printing house responsible for producing the temporary murals.  

About the Headworks Facility
The Headworks Facility, the first stop for 80% of San Francisco’s wastewater at the city’s 1950s-era Southeast Treatment Plant, has been rebuilt to withstand a 7.8 earthquake on the San Andreas fault. The facility is the primary intake and pre-treatment area of San Francisco’s largest wastewater treatment plant. It’s responsible for removing large debris and grit from incoming wastewater. The new facility removes grit with much greater efficiency, protecting other critical treatment systems on site. It also significantly reduces odors, a welcome, long-requested improvement for the surrounding Bayview neighborhood.

The new Headworks Facility was designed by Carollo Engineers of Walnut Creek, Calif., and built through a joint venture between Tempe, Ariz.-based Sundt Construction and Walsh Construction of Chicago, Ill. The facility is part of a larger investment to transform the Southeast Treatment Plant from an outdated wastewater facility into a modern resource recovery center that works better, looks better, and smells better.

“By rebuilding this facility, we’re investing in San Francisco’s future,” said SFPUC General Manager Dennis Herrera. “Treating wastewater is one of the most vital things we do to protect public health. It prevents the spread of disease and keeps our communities and waterways clean. This facility is where that starts. It’s now resilient, sustainable, and more efficient. Its long-term reliability reduces maintenance costs, saving ratepayer dollars. And this investment benefits the community through local jobs and opportunities for small business.”

Key Features of the New $717 Million Headworks Facility:

• Removes grit with 95% efficiency – a 45% improvement over the previous system
• Significantly reduces odors with new advanced odor technology
• Built to withstand a magnitude 7.8 earthquake
• Built to withstand 36 inches of sea level rise
• Recipient of the Water Environment Federation’s 2025 Project Excellence Award, recognizing the headworks project as one of the country’s leading wastewater upgrades
• Earned the Envision Gold Award from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure in 2019, the first City of San Francisco project to receive this recognition
• Improves long-term reliability and reduces maintenance costs, saving ratepayer dollars
• Replaces two outdated headworks operations with a single, modern facility
• Local hiring exceeded requirements: 615 San Francisco residents worked more than 414,000 craft hours on the project, accounting for 33% of total hours and earning $34 million in wages and benefits
• San Francisco Local Business Enterprises received $106 million in project contracts, supporting jobs and investment in the community

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About the San Francisco Arts Commission 
The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment, and shaping innovative cultural policy. SFAC programs include the Civic Art Collection, Civic Design Review, Community Investments, Public Art, SFAC Galleries, and Art Vendor Licensing. Learn more at sfartscommission.org. 

About the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is a department of the City and County of San Francisco. It delivers drinking water to 2.7 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area, collects and treats wastewater for the City and County of San Francisco, and meets 75% of the electricity demand in San Francisco. The SFPUC’s mission is to provide customers with high-quality, efficient and reliable water, power, and sewer services in a manner that values environmental and community interests, and sustains the resources entrusted to the agency's care. Learn more at sfpuc.gov.