Peninsula Region Construction Launch Event Celebrates 4 Major Projects

Last Wednesday at the Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), San Mateo County Board President Carole Groom, the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency and officials from throughout San Mateo County gathered to launch another $320 million in upgrades for the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System. Together these improvements will allow the SFPUC to provide water service to over 1 million people in San Mateo County and San Francisco within 36-hours of a major earthquake.

The event was held on the water’s edge adjacent to the two outlet towers that draw water out of the Crystal Springs Reservoirs. These historic structures built in 1891 and 1936 by Spring Valley Water Company are scheduled to be demolished and submerged under the water line as part of the upgrades. Work at these structures and in the reservoirs represents the most extensive underwater work in the Water System Improvement Program. Additional work in the area includes upgrades to the spillway and parapet wall at the top of the Lower Crystal Springs Dam. Built in 1890, this concrete, gravity-arch dam later served as a model for the Hoover Dam.

“San Mateo County residents and businesses depend on this regional water system. It has taken years of planning and collaboration by many agencies to reach this point,” said Carole Groom, President of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. “There will definitely be some inconvenience due to construction, but this inconvenience pales in comparison to not having access to clean drinking water.”

The projects celebrated include upgrades to the Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant (www.sfwater.org/peninsula), Crystal Springs Pipeline No. 2 (www.sfwater.org/cspl2), Lower Crystal Springs Dam and Crystal Springs/San Andreas Transmission System (www.sfwater.org/sct and www.Twitter.com/SawyerCampTrail).