Regional water system upgrade falls further behind Regional water system upgrade falls further behind (May 18, 2005)

By Marion Softky

Almanac Staff Writer

Amid rising criticism about delays and cost increases, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is holding four public information meetings to explain its massive program to fix the aging system that delivers water to 2.4 million people in four Bay Area counties.

The closest meeting on the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) is set for Monday, May 23, from 7 to 9 p.m., in Belmont, at the Twin Pines Community Center, 1223 Ralston Ave.

The meeting will explain the $4.3 billion project to repair and improve the system that delivers water from Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park across 160 miles and three earthquake faults to homes and businesses in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda counties.

Participants will get information to help them get involved in the environmental review process this summer.

"We must urgently rebuild our aging and vulnerable water system so we can continue to deliver reliable, high-quality water for the future," said General Manager Susan Leal.

Representatives of the 28 suburban water agencies that depend on San Francisco for water are getting increasingly restive as the monster project slides further behind. Since the $3.6 billion project was launched in 2002, estimated costs have soared by $700 million to $4.3 billion as of last fall. They wonder if the SFPUC is able to manage such a large project.

Art Jensen, general manager of the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency, worries that two years into the project, only 2 percent of the work has been done, and costs are already up 20 percent.

"It's a horrifying trend," he told the Almanac. "This is a matter of health, safety, and economic well-being of a region."

The state Legislature is also watching closely to see if more action is needed to get the project in motion.

"At this point, they must develop a final program and stand behind it," said Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, D-Redwood City, a veteran of the local water wars long before he joined the Assembly in January. "The number one priority for people in the Bay Area is to make the Hetch Hetchy water delivery system secure and safe."

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