NOVI, MI, June 22, 2015 -- The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) recently announced that it is repowering the San Francisco Fire Department's 102-year-old Auxiliary Water Supply System (AWSS) in an effort to help firefighters relying on this critical emergency water supply system. The SFPUC chose MTU, a Rolls-Royce Power Systems brand within the Land and Sea division of Rolls-Royce and manufacturer of diesel engines and propulsion systems, for the project.
Four MTU Series-2000 engines will power the AWSS emergency pump stations, which have a rated pumping capacity of 2,700 gallons per minute and are responsible for pumping water directly from San Francisco Bay specifically for fire protection. The MTU 12V 2000 C12 engines, which will be installed this fall, will replace four Detroit Diesel Series 71 engines, which were installed in 1972 to replace the system's original steam engines. MTU acquired the Detroit Diesel 2-Cycle product line in 2006.
The AWSS network was constructed after San Francisco's devastating 1906 earthquake, when the shaken city was unable to tap into the San Francisco Bay's abundance of water to extinguish the earthquake's subsequent building fires. Completed in 1913, the network is made up of a collection of water reservoirs, cisterns, suction connections, fireboats, and two pump stations, one of which is in the basement of San Francisco Fire Department's headquarters.
Some of the building's historical features include marble flooring, original windows and doors, as well as mechanical equipment such as process gauges and valves that date back to the building's original construction in the early 1900s. California-based MTU distributor, Valley Power Systems Inc., will provide local support following the installation of the engines through turnkey power engineering services, regulatory compliance assistance, and training and technical support, in addition to complete systems integration.
See also:
"SFPUC completes new seismic upgrades to Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant"
"Securing San Francisco’s Water Future with Help from Crystalline Technology"
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