FAQs

A levee is an embankment or a raised ridge designed for flood protection. In Foster City, the levee is the raised trail surrounding the outer perimeter of the City, which separates the City from the Bay. The Foster City levee system also provides recreational uses for the community. Residents enjoy walking, running, biking, and skating on the levee pathway. For more information about Foster City's levee, please visit our Levee System page.

If there is a street light outage, please contact Public Works Engineering at (650) 286-3270 on weekdays between 8 am and 5 pm.  If calling after hours, you will receive a pre-recorded message with general instructions and emergency information. You should provide your name, address, telephone number, location of requested repair, pole number, and as much detailed information of the problem as possible. For more information regarding the City's street lights, please visit the Street Lights and Traffic Signals page.

To report potholes in the roadway, uneven sidewalks, or damaged road signs or markings, please contact the Public Works Maintenance Streets Division at (650) 286-8140 on weekdays during business hours. If received after hours, you will receive a pre-recorded message with general instructions and emergency information. You should provide your name, address, telephone number, location of requested repair, and as much detailed information of problem as possible. For more information, please visit the Street Maintenance page.

For more information about the City's lagoon system, please visit the Lagoon System page.

To learn how to dispose of household hazardous waste, please visit the Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Options page.

On January 18, 2011, the City Council adopted Ordinance 561, establishing provisions for the regulation and citation of individuals who remove recyclable materials from curbside bins without the permission of the residents, businesses, or authorized refuse collector. The ordinance makes the unauthorized removal of recyclable materials from curbside bins, an infraction punishable by a fine of $100 for first time offenders, $200 for two-time offenders in the same year, and $500 if caught a third time within 12 months of the second infraction. For more information on this ordinance, please visit the Anti-Scavenging Ordinance page.

The street sweeper sweeps Neighborhoods 1-3 on every other Tuesday and sweeps Neighborhoods 4-9 on every other Thursday. For more information, such as the street sweeping days and the street sweeping schedule by street names, please visit the Street Sweeping page.

Under existing state law and City ordinance, Foster City property owners are responsible for maintaining the sidewalks immediately adjacent to their properties. This includes, but is not limited to, sidewalks along major roadways, sidewalks located behind walls or fences, segments on the back of properties, and multiple segments for priorities with multiple sidewalk adjacencies. For complete details about sidewalk maintenance and responsibilities, please visit the Sidewalks page.

For a complete list of the water conservation rebates available, please visit the Water Conservation Rebate Programs page.

On August 4, 2014, the Estero Municipal Improvement District (EMID) Board declared a water shortage emergency. In times of extended drought, declaration of a water shortage emergency allows the District to put in place measures to conserve water in the community. At this time EMID has only implemented measures A, B, C, E, F and L in District Code Section 8.60.050. For more information, please visit the Water Shortage Emergency Declaration page.

The Estero Municipal Improvement District is pleased to provide all residential and irrigation customers a rebate towards the purchase of a Smart Irrigation Controller. The rebate amount for residential customers covers 100% of the cost of the controller up to $250 maximum rebate. For irrigation customers, the rebate amount covers 100% of the cost of the controllers up to $50 per station with a maximum rebate of $7,500 for any one customer. To confirm eligibility for the rebate or for complete details on the program, please visit the Smart Irrigation Controller Rebate page.

The Foster City Estero Municipal Improvement District (EMID) offers EMID water customers, rebates, information, and education available to help you reduce your water use. For more information on the toilet rebate programs available, please visit the Water Conservation Rebate Programs page.