SAN FRANCISCO — With crews performing seismic retrofit work as a backdrop, city officials celebrated 10 years of success with the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) only a few blocks from where the first WSIP project in the city broke ground, according to a press release.
The WSIP is one of the largest infrastructure improvement programs in the nation and certainly the largest the city has ever undertaken, reported the release, including 82 projects — pipelines, tunnels, treatment plants, reservoirs and a dam, and is now more than 80 percent complete.
“A working water system capable of operating after a major seismic event is critical for the health and safety of people in the Bay Area,” said San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) General Manager Harlan Kelly. “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.”
Stretching 167 miles and traversing three major earthquake fault lines, continued the release, critical components of the water system had reached the end of their useful life and were vulnerable to earthquakes.
According to the release, over the past ten years, the WSIP has repaired, replaced and seismically upgraded this system to ensure San Francisco can continue to deliver consistent, reliable, high-quality water to customers even after a major earthquake.
