SAN FRANCISCO (Aug. 15, 2014) – In 2004, the first water system upgrade under the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) broke ground at Summit Reservoir in San Francisco. At that time, the Programmatic Environmental Impact Report that paved the way for 23 project-related California Environmental Quality Act documents was four years away from certification. The Project Labor Agreement that helped create more than 725,000 apprentice hours was three years in the future. In April, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) celebrated the 10th Anniversary of WSIP construction at Sutro Reservoir, which is just down the street from where it all began. The WSIP is one of the largest infrastructure improvement programs in the nation and certainly the largest the City has ever undertaken. SFPUC Commissioners and local and regional partners, including the Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency and labor representatives, as well as media, commemorated the occasion at a ceremony and tour of the seismic upgrade construction inside Sutro Reservoir. “Our water system is more reliable today than it was 10 years ago,” said general manager Harlan L. Kelly Jr. “While we’ve invested in the repair, replacement and seismic retrofit of our regional water system, we have also promoted the economic vitality of our entire region.” WSIP is one of the largest water infrastructure programs in the nation and the largest infrastructure program ever undertaken by the City of San Francisco.
Fri, 08/15/2014 - 00:00