Throwback Thursday at the Pulgas Water Temple

In honor of Throwback Thursday, we thought we’d share some old photos of the Pulgas Water Temple on the Peninsula from our archives. 

One of these temples was a fake constructed for the celebration of the first Hetch Hetchy waters reaching the San Francisco Peninsula in 1934. 

The other represents the real Pulgas Water Temple, which was finished about 5 years later. Do you know which one is which?  (Hint: the real temple does not have a roof).

SFPCU Construction Notice: Lane Closure Planned on S. Spruce Avenue between Huntington Avenue and Centennial Trail

Beginning as early as Monday, March 28, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC’s) Regional Groundwater Storage & Recovery Project will begin installing a new pipeline along S. Spruce Avenue between Huntington Avenue and the Centennial Way Trail in South San Francisco. 

• The SFPUC will install an eight inch diameter pipeline along S. Spruce Avenue.
• During pipeline construction, one eastbound lane will remain open to traffic from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. All eastbound lanes on S. Spruce Avenue will reopen at the end of each work day.
• Flaggers will be at the intersection of Huntington Avenue and S. Spruce Avenue to guide traffic during construction.
• During lane closures, access to businesses and homes will be maintained at all times.
• Construction activities are anticipated to last for approximately two weeks. 
• This Project will provide additional sources of water supply to our Peninsula customers in times of drought.

Construction Update: Lane Closure on Colma Boulevard Begins March 18

The SFPUC’s Regional Groundwater Storage & Recovery Project is making great progress in the Peninsula! This week the project team began installing an eight-inch diameter pipeline along Colma Boulevard in the Town of Colma. Once the Project is complete, this pipeline will connect our regional water customers with a water supply that can be used during a drought or other emergency.

During pipeline construction, one lane on Colma Boulevard will be closed (just west of El Camino Real) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. One lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction at all times.

• Pipeline construction will begin as early as Friday, March 18 and will last approximately two weeks. 
• Two construction message boards are posted on Colma Boulevard to notify traffic about upcoming lane closures.
• The Project is sensitive to traffic during services along Colma Boulevard and will adjust operations, if needed

Above is an example of what pipeline installation work looks like on Colma Boulevard.

Time to Spring Forward!

It is starting to look a lot like spring on the Peninsula. One of our team members snapped this picture of some Golden Poppies from the Peninsula Pipeline Seismic Upgrade project site in South San Francisco. In addition, it is time to spring forward with Daylight savings time starting this Sunday, March 13, 2016. Don’t forget to turn your clocks forward one hour for more light in the evening and a later sunrise! Hello Spring!

Capturing Construction in Photos

To our construction teams, Robin is a familiar face who frequently visits the active construction sites to shoot some candid photos of construction and our hard workers. Little did we  know that Robin not only works to document the construction progress but she gains much deserved national recognition while she is at it. For the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP), Robin’s photo of the New Irvington Tunnel Project made the Top Ten for the Engineering News Record (ENR) 2015 Year in Construction Photo Contest. This is a prestigious international construction photography competition, and we are extremely proud that Robin’s photo of our own tunnel was a winner!

About Robin

Robin Scheswohl moved to the Bay Area in 2003 from Philadelphia, PA where she studied photography and later worked with corporate and wedding photographers. She’s been with the SFPUC since 2007, working in the Construction Management Bureau and the Engineering Archives. She is responsible for cataloging and preserving thousands of historic images dating back to the 19th century, as well as documenting the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) construction projects. SFPUC Engineering Archives Photography has curated public exhibits at City Hall, at the San Francisco International Airport, and the SF American Institute of Architects (AIA) Headquarters. The images are used extensively by the SFPUC and appear in books, periodicals, environmental and engineering studies.

Here is Robin filming at the Bay Tunnel, which is the first tunnel constructed under San Francisco Bay.  Congratulations, Robin!

Construction Activities Resume

 

Construction activities for the Regional Groundwater Storage & Recovery (GSR) and Peninsula Pipeline Seismic Upgrade (PPSU) projects will resume today, February 16, after observing the President's Day Holiday.

Giants of the Watershed

The Peninsula Watershed is home to more than 3000 acres of Coastal Redwood and Douglas Fir. The tall native conifers are particularly important as nesting habitat for certain birds, such as the federally endangered Marbled Murrelet, a stocky black and white seabird that requires large areas of coastal forest canopy in order reproduce in the spring.  We’ll have updates in April and May on this year’s Marbled Murrelet pairs and other watershed wildlife.   

The pristine 23,000-acre Peninsula Watershed also has nearly 4000 acres of native oak and other hardwood forests, plus large expanses of grassland, chaparral, and other habitats, including marsh, riparian, cultivated and lakes. Together, they foster a diversity of ecosystems with their own webs of native plant and animal life. The watershed is also a State Fish and Wildlife Refuge.