PPSU Project Begins Paving Activities on Courtland Drive Next Week

Please reference this map to access Peninsula High School during the full closure of Courtland Drive.

Beginning as early as Monday, December 14, Courtland Drive will be closed between the San Bruno Chinese Church entrance and Peninsula High School for repaving as part of restoration activities for the Peninsula Pipeline Seismic Upgrade (PPSU) Project. 

Once this work begins, the contractor anticipates paving activities will last two to three days. Please reference the map above for the specific section of roadway that will be repaved. During this closure, all traffic will be detoured to Peninsula High School’s Piedmont Avenue entrance via Madison Avenue and Crestmoor Drive. This section of Courtland Drive is a private road owned by the San Mateo Union High School District. 

Courtland Drive will be closed during the following time period:

· Monday, December 14 through Friday, December 18

The PPSU project includes seismic upgrades to three Hetch Hetchy regional water delivery pipelines located in Northern San Mateo County. This project will ensure the pipelines can continue to deliver water to customers after an emergency. For more information and updates about this closure, please call the 24-hour answering service at (866) 973-1476 or subscribe to this blog to receive project updates. 

SFPUC Pipeline Repair to Begin at Junipero Serra Park Entrance

Depicted above is the location of pipeline construction and temporary pedestrian access.

Beginning the week of December 7, crews with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) will begin construction to permanent repairs on the 130 feet of the large water pipeline that ruptured in July of this year. Construction will take place at the entrance to Junipero Serra County Park. While private vehicles will not be able to access the park, pedestrians will be able to access the park from Crystal Springs Road via an alternate pedestrian path. Please pay close attention to directional signage for park access.

What to Expect:

• Construction mobilization and pipeline demolition and replacement activities inside Junipero Serra Park. Please reference the map above.
• Work hours: Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through the end of February 2016.
• For safety reasons, the general public will not be able to drive into the park for the duration of construction activities, including over the weekends. 
• Pedestrians entering from Crystal Springs Road will be rerouted to use alternate access, please reference the map above for the exact location. Other pedestrian trails in the park will be mostly unaffected.
• There will be some noise and dust associated construction activities, but environmental monitoring will be in place to ensure these impacts are minimal.

Thank you for your patience as we complete these important pipeline repairs! Questions? Please e-mail blauppe@sfwater.org or miglesias@sfwater.org, or call us toll free at (866) 973-1476.

Construction Update for Lake Merced Golf Club Site

Beginning as early as Tuesday, December 1, construction activities will increase at the Lake Merced Golf Club Project Site to start building a new well facility. This work will occur Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and intermittently on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

 Please reference the map above for the construction limits and location of the new well facility.

During well facility construction, there will be an increase in construction deliveries and traffic.The SFPUC and its contractors will work to minimize noise, dust and traffic impacts, but some disruptions are expected due to the nature of construction. Every effort will be made to keep these impacts to a minimum.

In January 2015, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) awarded the $42.9 million construction contract for the Regional Groundwater Storage and Recovery Project to Ranger Pipelines, Inc. This Project started pre-construction activities in Spring 2015 and anticipates completion in early 2018. Construction activities at the Lake Merced Golf Club started in September 2015.

Check out the 2015 WSIP Annual Review Newsletter

As we approach the end of 2015, we’re excited to take a moment to go back in time some of the exciting milestones that the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) achieved. While the WSIP has been active for the past 10 years and we are at 90 percent completion overall, there are still active projects in construction.

This year’s newsletter highlights various projects from the Peninsula, Bay Division and Sunol regions, including the completion of the Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant. In addition, we’ll take a look back at the various awards projects have received and an update on the California drought and its impact to our water system.

2015 WSIP Year In Review

Enjoy! 

The Watershed Legacy: Protection and Preservation

The 23,000-acre Peninsula Watershed  has been a key source of high-quality drinking water since the 1860s, when our predecessor, the private San Francisco-based water company Spring Valley Water Company, turned to the neighboring Peninsula to help meet the needs of a mushrooming population. The first dam, the Pilarcitos,was built in 1866. 

This hidden reservoir lies deep in woodsy and water-rich Pilarcitos Canyon, to the west of the Crystal Springs and San Andreas reservoirs that we see from Highway 280 and other roads paralleling the watershed's east boundary, Today, Pilarcitos water serves primarily the Coastside County Water District. . 

While the company’s legendary engineer Hermann Schussler was surveying an alignment for the future pipeline to connect Pilarcitos Reservoir north to San Francisco, he saw the potential for the next reservoir—in flat San Andreas Valley. Spring Valley soon added that valley and surrounding watershed to its other Peninsula holdings. Schussler and his superiors believed the way to protect the quality of a water source was to manage and preserve the surrounding watershed—a conviction that we have upheld ever since.  

The watershed itself continues to sustain a historic diversity of natural habitats, ranging from old-growth Douglas Fir forest to coastal chaparral, serpentine bunch grasses, and wetlands.  Together they harbor an abundance of native plant and animal life, including
many rare, threatened and endangered species.

The endangered California Red-Legged Frog

Construction activities for the Peninsula Pipeline Seismic Upgrade (PPSU) Project and the Regional Groundwater Storage and Recovery (GSR) Project will occur on Wednesday, November 11

PPSU Project Completes Major Construction; Restoration Now Underway in San Bruno

Final look at San Andreas Pipeline No. 3 at Shelter Creek Condominiums in September

Can you believe only two months ago the PPSU project completed pipeline installation and put the new San Andreas Pipeline No. 3 back into service? Now in restoration, the project is working quickly to return the SFPUC’s right of way to how it looked before construction.

Next week, the contractor will focus on repairing and replacing the curb, gutter and sidewalk on the south side of Whitman Way. All pedestrians will be detoured to the sidewalk on the north side of Whitman Way from Monday, November 9 through Friday, November 13. For more information and updates about the PPSU project, please call the 24-hour answering service at (866) 973-1476.

Thank you for your continued patience and support during this project. This project ensures the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System continues to deliver water to customers after an emergency.