Improvements eyed for San Francisco Bay in wake of algae bloom

"You know, there is a unique opportunity now where the federal government and state governments have resources and are recognizing the decrepit state of our infrastructure, including our wastewater infrastructure. So, now's the time to, you know, begin to do those things we know we're going to have to do anyway," says Dr. Rosenfield.

In other words, projects with multiple benefits. He says examples could include upgrading wastewater treatment plants to protect them from the threat of sea level rise, while making them cleaner at the same time. Or expanding efforts to convert treated wastewater into drinking water to fight the drought, which could create an added opportunity to sequester nitrogen in the process.