Behind the Scenes in Front of Lower Crystal Springs Dam

   

Hetch Hetchy Water System improvements are progressing steadily on both sides of the Lower Crystal Springs Dam. In front of the Dam, the new Crystal Springs Pump Station is a hub of construction activity. The pump station moves water from the Crystal Springs Reservoir System to the San Andreas Reservoir with a third more hydraulic capacity than the old pump station, thus allowing SFPUC to advance water to the Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant faster than before and thereby meeting the SFPUC level of service commitment to provide potable water within 24 hours after a major seismic event.  When the pump station is completed, most key functions can be controlled remotely from Harry Tracy, located eight miles north.

   

While the pump station itself is nearly completed and actively undergoing testing, work continues on water transmission tunnels, pump station infrastructure pipelines, and the emergency release/dissipation structure nearby.

L to R: Lower Crystal Springs Dam, old CS pump station, emergency 
release/dissipation structure under construction, and new pump station.

Work on the emergency release/dissipation structure adjacent to “pool 2” in San Mateo Creek (above) required SFPUC biologists to survey the area and remove endangered steelhead trout before the pool could be temporarily drained. 

Staff Biologist Madeleine Van Der 
Heyden carefully transfers endangered 
steelhead to a bucket for relocation.

Staff Biologist Chris Pattison snorkels to find 
steelhead trout.




Crystal Springs Outlet Tunnel before and during retrofit


Two valves housed deep within the emergency release/dissipation structure minimize turbulent flow into San Mateo Creek during releases from the Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir. 

    

Construction on both sides of the Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir, together with all of the other improvements to the regional distribution system, will allow the SFPUC to deliver potable water within 24 hours following a major earthquake on the San Andreas Fault.