Water supply fix under way
Bill Silverfarb
San Mateo Daily Journal
03/31/2011
A massive $320 million public works project is launching in San Mateo County to improve the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System and water deliveries for more than 2.4 million people living in the Bay Area.
The four projects beginning construction on the Peninsula are part of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s $4.6 billion Water System Improvement Program and include upgrades to the Crystal Springs reservoir system, water treatment plant and regional pipelines.
Work on the projects should take four years to complete.
Later this year, SFPUC should reach the peak of construction activities on a multitude of projects to seismically retrofit the entire water-delivery system.
The SFPUC provides water for San Francisco residents and 27 other wholesale customers, including the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency.
Most cities on the Peninsula partner together to purchase water through BAWSCA. In San Francisco, residents approved a bond measure in November 2002 to fund more than 80 projects to improve the system but San Mateo County residents will pay for the projects through rate increases.
Next year, the SFPUC will charge its wholesalers at least 41 percent more for water and by 2021, water rates will double for all of its customers.
“Without these projects, in case of a major earthquake the Bay Area could be without water for 30 to 60 days. The community won’t survive,” said BAWSCA Chief Executive Officer Art Jensen.
System improvements would get water running back to the Bay Area within 36 hours, Jensen said.
“It is well worth the money for health, safety and economic well-being,” Jensen said.
So far, the SFPUC has delivered most of its projects on time and on budget, Jensen said.
Built in the early- to mid-1900s, many parts of the system are outdated, with critical portions crossing over or near three major earthquake faults, according to the SFPUC. In 2002, the SFPUC launched the improvement project to repair, replace and seismically upgrade the system’s deteriorating pipelines, tunnels, reservoirs, pump stations, storage tanks and dams that carry water from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite National Park to the Bay Area.
