The colossal plan to repair the decrepit water system that serves 2.5 million residents of San Francisco, the Peninsula and parts of the East Bay reached a key milestone Tuesday with the release of an environmental study that, if approved, will kick-start 17 regional water projects worth more than $2.5 billion.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission general manager Ed Harrington, who released the report, said the projects – which range from expanding recycled-water facilities to burying pipelines deep beneath the bay – are crucial to upgrade a system that carries water 167 miles from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in the Sierra Nevada to customers in San Francisco and to 27 water agencies in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda counties. Some of the projects could break ground by the end of the year, because many jurisdictions already have been working on required local environmental impact reports.
“The Hetch Hetchy system is a marvel – it’s gravity-driven and delivers pristine water to people in four counties,” Harrington said. “But it crosses five active fault lines, and we know there’s going to be a major earthquake in the Bay Area.”
