Transcripts For SFGTV Government Access Programming 20180210

February 7th, meeting of the government audit and oversight committee. I am supervisor fewer. Board president london breed has appointed me in place of vice chair peskin and i am joined by london breed and katy tang. Thank you to the clerk, and also like to thank those for staffing the meeting at sfgovtv. Silence all cell phones and electronic devices, speaker cards and copies of documents to be included as part of the file should be committed to the clerk. Items acted on today will appear on the february 13, 2018, board of supervisors agenda unless otherwise stated. Can we have a motion to excuse supervisor peskin . Motion to excuse supervisor peskin. Thank you. Without objection, that motion passes there any changes to the agenda . Mr. Clerk, please call item number one. Clerk hearing on the operations and maintenance status of the citys Emergency Water supply system since 2010 and spare parts deemed no longer useful or ongoing to the functioning of the system. This hearing is sponsored by supervisor peskin, continued from several months ago and cosponsored by supervisor yee and myself. Supervisor peskin is unable to be here today but appreciate him for calling for the hearing two years ago. Initially heard in april of 2016, and again in march of last year, this hearing on Emergency Water supply systems highlights an issue near and dear to me, as a supervisor for district one. In the Richmond District, thousands of homes, wooden and built very close together that will be vulnerable to a fire in the case of a major earthquake or other disaster. 42,000 structures not currently covered by High Pressure Emergency Water system. While most of central San Francisco has been equipped with a robust Emergency Water system known as awss, auxiliary water supply system, richmond has not the same access in the case of a catastrophe. I am very appreciative of the comprehensive work done by the city departments and independent reviewers to develop a proposal that we would hear about today. My hope is that this Emergency Water supply system can be put into place on the west side before its needed to protect lives and property. Today we will hear from general manager harlan kelly, San Francisco Fire Department chief, and manager of policy and government affairs. I understand that we have several other staff from sf Fire Department and sfpuc in the audience available in case of questions. As well as the independent expert reviewer for the sfpuc report and Emergency Water supply system options. Thank you for being here today. I would like to invite mr. Kelly to make some opening remarks. Mr. Kelly. Good morning, supervisors, again, my name is harlan kelly, general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities commission. Before i start, the presentation, i was just thinking back and when i started with the structural section at the department of public works, one of my first projects, we were working on the awss system and i became City Engineer in 1996 which d. P. W. Managed the engineering for the awss system. And 2002, brought over to the p. U. C. To run the 4. 8 billion program, water program, 95 complete. At the same time later, 2010, the awss was transferred to the p. U. C. For the engineering and so we have done a lot of great work and im really familiar with the system and have a lot of knowledge of the system. But i just want to point out the partnership that we have had with the with the Fire Department, d. P. W. Or San Francisco public works and the Water Department or the p. U. C. Has been there since the beginning. In fact, the water that goes to the reservoirs for awss system, always been a connection and i just feel that since 2010, the connection has been even better. And so definitely we are excited to tell you the things that we are doing. You know, we offer a lot of advantages at the p. U. C. That you know, i think the system didnt really enjoy. We have over 80 plumbers and so we are very familiar about exercising valves and Leak Detection and i think we brought that expertise to the system. The other thing that i wanted to point out is that in all our Water Systems, the first thing we want to model the system, so we worked with public works to model the system and the Fire Department and really come up with a strategy of how you can make sure that you get enough coverage throughout the entire city so that you can identify projects that give you the most bang for the buck, and by modelling it, it really showed us the deficiency on the west side, and we need to make those investments and so we came up with options to really bring that home and john will go more into that. And so you know, when we went through we originally came up with ten options, and our steering committee, public works, Fire Department, and p. U. C. , we actually noticed we did not have enough coverage. We brought it to your attention and we actually added two more options, and those are the options that we felt would give us the most bang for the buck. And well go over the details of that option. But i want to say that you know, the team of the Fire Department, public works, and the p. U. C. Are working well together, and im really excited to really tell you all the things that we are able to accomplish working together. And so with that, i wanted to hand it over to fire chief, ok, there you are, to say a few words. Thank you, mr. Kelly. Chief, one second, please. I believe that supervisor katy tang would like to say something. Supervisor tang very brief, i would like to add my name as a cosponsor on this hearing about the west side and the reliability for our western neighborhoods. We have been studying this issue for years and years and years and i want to thank the Community Members who first brought this to our attention. And the meantime, departments such as the p. U. C. , the Fire Department, public works, had worked so diligently to come up with not only educating us on how our systems work and what is the new technology out there, and also engaging in the study that you just recently released to the public about what it is that we can do to strengthen reliability on our west side neighborhoods. So, just want to express my appreciation, this has been an issue that i think several of us have been paying attention to for many, many years. And i think that you know, often times you know, we might hear a critique from the community about how it is we are not doing enough to again improve the safety and reliability for our western neighborhoods, and i think that from what i have seen over the years and through several bond measures that we have actually increased the reliability for many of our neighborhoods throughout the entire city. Very impressed with that, but of course always more that we can do. So, really looking forward to your presenttation and hearing the results of the latest study that just came out. Thank you very much, and thank you mr. Kelly. And thank you, chief for your patience. Good morning. Chief joanne hayes white, San Francisco Fire Department. Thank you to the government audits and oversight committee. I know supervisor peskin could not be here today. Piggy backing, i wanted to applaud you, supervisor tang and supervisor, and president breed, and making sure the residents are served adequately and properly and in our business in the Fire Department we always look for additional options, redundancy and we feel a measured methodical and comprehensive study took place and we are very pleased to bring this report and our findings before you today. A lot of work went into it. I echo what general manager kelly said about partnerships in 2010 when the awss was transferred to the p. U. C. We have working with the p. U. C. To upgrade the system and saw some vulnerabilities, in the sunset and the Richmond District, and we want to focus how we could have additional options built in to protect all areas of the city. And in march of last year, the committee asked both departments to come back with a comprehensive report. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of not only the d. P. W. But the Public Utilities commission, we meet regularly, impressed by their expertise and their professionalism, and really looking at all different options. I would also like to acknowledge members of my team because they work very closely with the p. U. C. , im joined today by newly appointed deputy chief Janine Nicholson here, and also our water expert in the Fire Department, captain james ready. So, without further ado, p. U. C. Findings, from mr. Scarpulo. Thanks very much, chief. Good morning, supervisors, john scarpulu with the p. U. C. Pleasure to be here and report out to you. With me, obviously are several experts from the p. U. C. And Fire Department as well as professor charles kauthorn, International Recognized in the field and completed the independent third party report. However, before i get into the report, i want to speak a little more, more details on the partnership that both director kelly and chief hayes white discussed. And 2010 then mayor transferred responsibility of Fire Suppression over to the p. U. C. , and the year the first emergency, earthquake emergency bond was passed, one in 2010 and 1 in 2014. In the partnership, improvements and expansion in the maintenance we do must meet the quality standards required by the San Francisco Fire Department. Sfpuc, design and construction and maintenance of the Water Systems. Hehechi is recognize for excellence. And project management, expertise and guidance. And they have been working with the Fire Department since the inception of awss. And that continuity is really important. And finally, as harlan pointed out, we use hydraulic modelling. And we use them to guide our Decision Making so we can really see how different neighborhoods will perform in different fire scenarios. So, getting back to the importance of continuity, im able to confirm harlans story, this is a 1991 department of public works recruitment video in which harlan l. Kelly, jr. , stylish then, still stylish now, was literally completing calcs on cisterns. He pressed return and the next screen he went to is a fire cistern. So, this is a fire cistern that he was modelling in 1991. And we still show this recruitment video, by the way, at the p. U. C. To get people over. And so our modelling has come a long way from then. And so here it is in 2010. In 2010, when we took over the system, the first thing our team did was complete a citywide reliability assessment. And what we found was that there was some serious concerns that we needed to address with the system. We determined the citywide reliability score for large fires after an earthquake was 47 . So, what does that mean in less technical terms . It means that after an earthquake where there are multiple large fires breaking out, we had the ability to provide about 47 of the water needed to fight the fires. When we break it down into district, those districts that are darker colored blue on this map have higher reliability, those districts with less or low reliability are lighter color blue. So you can see that even in the areas of the city where there were a large amount of awss pipes, such as in the south market area and the financial district, we still have low reliability scores. We needed to address those low scores. And what we immediately did, we started implementing Capital Projects and saw we needed to firm up the reliability of the Water Supplies that feed into the awss system. Before you expand a system, you have to shore up your existing ones. So, we immediately went into updating the reliability of the Water Supplies so we completed critical water supply upgrades at the three primary source supplies for the awss. Twin peaks, Ashbury Heights tank, and the jones tank. And Summit Reservoir to the awss Twin Peaks Reservoir to increase the speed of refill during fire events. We also replaced the engines for the sea water pump station number one, there are two, and replaced engines, and Remote Control capabilities for the pump station. Installed 30 now cisterns, 15 of those installed in the sunset and Richmond Districts. And completed six pipeline and tunnel projects. On top of the Capital Projects, we have completed hundreds of routine and nonroutine maintenance tasks on cistern, hydrants, pipelines, valves and pump stations. Plumbers on call, guidance, the city now has the resources to complete vital maintenance tasks to keep the system functioning. Once we were assigned maintenance responsibilities in 2010, as harlan pointed out, the same inspection and Leak Detection protocols for the hehechi system. Every day, every year since the 1920s. A simple data point with one of the outcomes of the robust Maintenance Program. Due to the Maintenance Activity since 2010, we have significantly reduced the amounts of water that leaks from the awss system. Reduced the leakage by over 400,000 gallons per day. Not only increase the performance of the system, better able to meet the requirements of Fire Department, but also saves almost 150 million gallons of water per year, Drinking Water per year that is saved. We have made solid progress over the past eight years, our work is certainly not done. We will continue to complete critical maintenance tasks and routine and nonroutine. Additionally, the following are some key Capital Projects currently designed or under construction. We are connecting the 70 million gallons south basin of the University Mound reservoir to the awss. Completed in 2018. Once completed, eight times more in city water available for the awss. By that connection. Additionally, 16 pipeline and tunnel projects under construction. We are continuing to motorize valves, and talked about how we upgraded sea water pump station one, and now upgrades for number two. Additionally in the design phase for a pump station at lake mersad. About a billion capacity. Completions of the projects will continue to increase the reliability of the awss. When we took over the system in 2010, the citywide reliability score was about 47 . After the full completion of the projects that will be funded by the 2010 and 2014 bonds, the citywide reliability will increase to 87 . A jump from 47 to 87 . Thats an almost doubling of the system reliability in about a decades time. Again, the shared goal of our 3 8th sis is to t the three agencies, we will look at the best methodology to doing so. The view to the west side. Again, this committee in march of 2017 requested that we complete a report analyzing options for the west side. We contracted with a. E. Com. Seven options were expansion of awss, and five options are a portable awss. Collaborative between the Fire Department and p. U. C. And the final recommendations from the chief and general manager. G. A. O. Committee also requested independent review by a third party expert, and professor performed the review. So, before i go into the option, i want to make sure we all understand what i mean when i say potable awss. It will be designed to meet the same robust performance standards they have for the existing awss. Utilize the same or better earthquake resistant pipes, seismically reliable valves, hydrants and components used. P. U. C. And Fire Department are going to be completing rigorous reliability analysis of these components in the coming weeks. If we determine that there are better components available for our use, we will inspect those for installation. We want the best technologies available. The main difference between the awss and the potable awss, it will be designed to meet Drinking Water standards. This means during nonfire situations, there will be minimal connections between the citys low pressure Domestic Water system and the potable awss. I say minimal connections because the purpose of the potable awss is not feed along every home in its path. Purpose is to connect the potable awss to the low pressure water system at just enough strategic location to ensure the water in the potable awss has enough movement so it remains drinkable. We expect there to be approximately five connections via seismically reliable motorized valves. The same valves that are used on the east side existing awss. East side, approximately 30 of the valves, we will be adding five approximately. During a fire situation, the five valves closed, isolating the potable awss. The pressure will be increased to the levels required by the Fire Department to fight large fires via redundant High Pressure pumps from an isolated 90 million gallon reservoir. As the low pressure water system will continue to function during a fire, providing homes and businesses with water. Finally, a major benefit of the potable awss, its ability to provide Drinking Water to the sunset and Richmond Districts after a seismic event. So, after the firefighting following an earthquake, once the firefighters are done putting out the fires, even if there are breakages in the low pressure distribution system, using this 4 to 5 potable awss system, we can provide Drinking Water to the sunset and Richmond District. It will be the only two districts in the city to currently have this fortified potable line. A major ancillary benefit. Back to the report. So again, the report analyzed 12 option, seven expansion of awss and five potable awss. Criteria for analysis. Modeled and analyzed hydraulic performance of each of the 12 options following a 7. 8 earthquake. So that occurs and then multiple fires throughout the city and we modeled how these different options would be able to perform in that scenario. Additionally, looked at the reliability of the Water Systems feeding the 12 option, design of the pipes, and the other areas served. Increased the reliability of the sunset district at the detriment of the fillmore or the inner richmond, its not a preferable option. And ancillary benefits and costs. Lets look at the awss options first. And our modelling results showed us there is not enough supply and pressure to effectively serve the Richmond District. Now, we can do some creative piping configurations to increase the pressure in the Richmond District, but by doing so, we reduce pressures to below performance levels in other areas of the city, richmond and presidio heights. Not enough pressure to adequately serve the sunset district at all with these options. And to do so, to both richmond and sunset, add supplies from either Sunset Reservoirs or the lake. So two options as well. We looked at adding a pump station on the lake, under design. And while this option will work for about the same cost of serving just one district with the lake merced pump station option, we can serve both that, meet the standards of the San Francisco Fire Department and provide ancillary benefits using a potable awss. So now ill go into the analysis of the potable awss. Before i go into those options, i want to take a look at the water supply that will feed into any of the five potable awss options. So, the north basin of the Sunset Reservoir serves as a supply for the awss options, the potable awss options. North basin, 90 million gallons of water, and isolated from the sunset, also 90 million gallons. During a fire situation, the north basin can be used for firefighting, south basin can continue to deliver water to residents and businesses. Both are supplied by the hehechi water basin. Replenished by the hetch hetchy system. And one of the water improvement program, water from hetch hetchy must be supplied within 24 hours of a large earthquake. One of the projects of the Water System Improvement Program was a seismic reinforcement project of the north basin of Sunset Reservoir. In 2008, 42 million seismic upgrade to the north basin. Improvements should allow 7. 9 earthquake. We also performed calculations to determine how long it would take to empty the north basin. All the Fire Departments engines would have to pump at Maximum Capacity for 24 hours. This also assumes not a single drop of water from the hetchy system would be supplied to the basin during that 24 hour period. The Fire Department has stated this scenario would likely never happen, the Fire Department would never have all the engines on one side of the city pumping from a single reservoir. Additionally, the hetch hetchy system, with the strengths in pipelines and reservoirs will refill the basin in 24 hours, even after a major earthquake. We are confident backed up by the 117 billion gallon capacity of the hetch hetchy water system is a resilient and reliable water supply able to meet the demands of the Fire Department during a large fire. Please note that the water supply that will feed into the potable awss, via redundant High Pressure pumps. Now lets look at the various options. Harlan pointed out, when we first brought the options to the chief and director kelly, there were three options. And general manager kelly and chief hayes white sent us back, they had concerns about the options, mainly redundancy in the pipe networks. One break, all the systems downstream would not be able to function. So, sent us back tore two option, 11 and 12, greater reliability due to the redundant looped pipe networks. And do not negatively impact performance of existing awss and they can be designed to assure post earthquake reliability comparable to the existing awss reliability. Lets take a look at these two options. Option 11, which is a looped, small looped system in the richmond and sunset. You can see it has fairly strong coverage but it does leave some of the central and sunset districts with less coverage. Let us now look at option 12, a larger loop, better coverage to the central and southern sunset districts. And you can see it also goes into the Richmond District. And one line that feeds up past the loop. Thats a line that will bring this High Pressure system directly to veterans hospital. Very important of us to bring a High Pressure line up to that hospital there. So, after we presented the 12 options to p. U. C. And Fire Department management, the chief and director recommended option 12. Recommend staff perform rigorous reliability analysis and design to ensure the performance requirements of the Fire Department are met. Additionally, they provided specific direction that the design for the system should be agile and flexible to add new technologies and water sources to the system in the future. Additionally, designed to allow the piping network to be extended into future areas to serve additional areas in the future. So, if we move forward with the implementation of option 12, and when we complete the 2010 and 2014 bond projects, we have significantly higher reliability throughout the city. However, even with the strength in system, our work is not done. We are dedicated to increasing reliability of our Fire Suppression system in all areas of the city and we will continue with our robust Maintenance Program to keep our existing reservoir, pipes and valves functioning so they are ready for when the big one hits. Implementing this vision will take dedication and resources. Now, take a look at the resources we estimate we need to implement the recommended option 12. Total estimated cost, 112 million. They asked us to recommend the best option, that is what we have done. Also the most expensive option but it is the one that continues the best coverage district. Because this option provides benefits to again the Potable Water system specifically for the richmond and sunset district after a seismic event, the p. U. C. Is able to put capital dollars towards it. General manager kelly has already put 10 million a year for four years towards this project for a total of 40 million. So right now we are estimating that we have a total funding need of about 70 million. This number could increase based on as we get further into design, ill go over some things that may make it increase. A dee thing to take away, we can begin work asap, in fact we have. We are already beginning the reliability analysis we need to complete. Before i move on to the next steps, i want to touch on professor kauthorns independent review. His findings, his memo found awss now and in the future needs to maintain high seismic reliability. Agrees with the assessment. And the analysis are reasonable and valuable source of information to select options, more rigorous reliability are needed. We are starting that analysis as we speak. We concur. The current awss he also found has a shortfall to serve the richmond and sunset district, again we discussed in options 1 through 7. We cant just expand the existing awss. Also found for about the same cause for the Richmond District only, both richmond and sunset can be served using a potable network. Due to location, size and recent seismic reinforcement, the reservoir could be a source for the potable awss. Also recommended a phased Implementation Program for option 12, resulting in an integrated, multisourced highly reliable, in line completely with the chief and general manager kelly, agility and flexibility to add future water sources and have the design so it can expand to future areas. So, here is one conceptual rendering for it. In the solid pink, the original option 12 in the report. We could add additional water from the lake merced pump station, already under design, we could tie it into the east to west, and then it could also feed up into this loop system. Again, lake merced has a billion gallons of capacity. Additionally, tie into the existing line in the Richmond District and other areas. Just one future possibility. We are also looking at other water source, which i will get to. So, what are the next steps . Complete rigorous reliability analysis. Environmental review, with the planning department. We will begin design work for option 12, including a thorough review of components, pump, valves, etc. By the agencies. We are specifically going to look at pipeline alignments. One of the things we are going to look at analyzing Richmond District pipeline. So, currentsly one east west pipeline. So, we are going to look at having two east west pipelines. For example, we could have one that runs on cabrio and another down california or clement street. So we will report back to the supervisors and other people. We are also looking at the exact locations of the north south runs, so, right now the conceptual option 12 has the north south run on 22nd avenue. Perhaps more sense for 20th or 18th avenue. Work with the Fire Department to ensure they have the coverage they need based on the north south runs and east west runs. We are also developing a plan for the residences and businesses on the pipeline. We understand it has the potential to impact daily lives and businesses and be sure to be sensitive to that. Work with the capital committee, board and mayor for Funding Options for the recommended project and complete a report looking Atlantic Ocean beach salt water pump station to supply salt water into the system, on the east side a secondary source, we will look into that for the west side. So with that, i know it was long, but any questions . Colleagues, any questions . Supervisor tang. Supervisor tang i dont have a question, but i know spent a lot of time talking about this report and just what we had asked you to look into. I just really again want to thank all the different departments for the thoroughness and analysis. Im happy with what i see here in terms of option 12 being the best option and yes, it is the most expensive one, but we have heard from the community they dont care about cost, they care about safety. So if it is most expensive, so be it. Residents will be more safe. As one of the most fiscally conservative members of the board, i would be happy with option 12, even if it is the most expensive. I want to thank you for such a thorough analysis done here and the considerations for future expansion as well. President breed. And the second most fiscally conservative member of the board of supervisors, i would agree with that option. The kinds of decisions we make will impact our neighborhoods for generations to come. And so we have to do the right thing now and not and focus on quality more so, especially when we talk about infrastructure. So, as much as it pains me to spend money ever, i agree with the comments of supervisor tang on this particular issue. Thank you. Thank you. I have a few questions, frankly, and i personally fiscally responsible, hence the clothes i wear, but around safety, preparing the district and the neighborhood that i have moved into since 1959, and i have great affection for, i also think that the finances of it actually expense should be secondary to how well we are being protected. So, i just want to comment a little bit about the option 12. And maybe i would first like to meet professor kauthorn, whom the work would not have completed without his expertise, and to perhaps hello, professor. Pleased to meet you. Thank you for the work you have done on this. My question is, option 12, just from a layperson perspective, is that would this give us an adequate water supply without the lake merced pump station, using just the reservoir for my district, which is the Richmond District . We have to define the meaning of adequate. Adequate basically has two fundamental dimensions. One in terms of quantity, the other in terms of reliability. Sunset reservoir has as pointed out, 90 million gallons, which is probably sufficient for most firefighting purposes that we would anticipate following an earthquake. The from the points of view of reliability, however, the option 12 by itself is a Single Source supply. And the, as we saw in the design of the original awss, in 1907 to 12, which was designed based on experience in 1906, which is very important to remember, they built in multiple sources of supply in multiple layers. Not only did they put in two sea water pump stations but put in supply for fire boats, they put in Twin Peaks Reservoir and then put in cistern, even if the entire pipe system failed. There are cisterns built in the sunset. But ideally, you would want to have multiple sources supply in the western part of the city similarly to the eastern part of the city. So therefore, beyond Sunset Reservoir in the long run, a second source of supply, whether from lake merced or the Pacific Ocean is highly desirable. Not only for the western part of the city, but if as i pointed out in my memo, if that is then connected into the existing awss, supplying potentially even the eastern part of the city. For some reason we have problems there. And i think in the long run as San Francisco is built out, you want sources of supply at all four quadrants of the city. We have them now in the northeast quadrant, something in the southeast quadrant, with sunset, something in the western part of the city, but lake merced and the salt water pump station would flush that out. I hope that answers your question. Yes. Do you think if we just had one, we just had the lake merced pump station, do you think that is adequate . Or do you suggest we should have a salt water pump along the west coast, the western border in the ocean . In the long run, i would like to see at least one source on the west side of the city. Lake merced and or salt water pump station and ultimately i would like to see, im not paying for it, but i would like to see both sources. Ok. Great. So your recommendation is probably that the best solution to have adequate reliability is to actually have a source of, a pump station on the ocean, salt water pump station and also the lake merced. I suppose you could say that. Thank you very much. Appreciate that. Because actually, i, oh, i have to say, thank you very much, appreciate it. Mr. Scarpulla, it has been a pleasure working with you and i think supervisor tang and i can honestly say from what was first brought to us as an option, this is vastly better and with more coverage. Having said that, i think that in my district, and i just want to emphasize for everyone listening in the room that is not familiar with the Richmond District, in my district, we are wood framed. We are, our homes are very close to each other. We are all my own home was built in 1911, i mean, 1922, i just went into a home yesterday built in 1900. Old materials, wood frame, dont have sprinklers, they are, in fact, i like to say that our homes are so close on a quiet night i can hear my neighbor flush their toilet. And so in case of a fire, it actually brings in even more challenges, and also the possibility, and i know that in San Francisco our firefighters because our homes are so close together, unlike other fire districts, that you see in the news or fighting a fire from the outside and they have the hoses to the outside, our firefighters actually go inside the home because of the risk of the fire spreading because the homes are so closely together which makes the work of firefighters much more dangerous here in this dense population of San Francisco. And so i would, what i would like to see, and i think that we have discussed this many times, so i would like to see two parallel lines that actually run across the length of my district, that go east to west. And i understand we have one at 42nd and then the western borders, 42, the eastern border is 22nd, neighbor we could move it closer because quite frankly, i would love for the eastern border to actually connect to the 12th avenue existing awss pipeline that also is connected to ashbury water source and the other source, the twin peaks should we need more water. Ideally, a line going east west along, connecting to 12th avenue and then another parallel line going perhaps on clement if not gary, and that would also give the sea cliff actually some protections, too, going from east west to 12th avenue. And i think when we spoke about a loop, that is the real loop and i just wanted to mention that in any of the pictures that we saw, that that one line was not really a real line and im so glad to see on page 21 that actually that line is gone because actually, i was thinking it was awss line, and it wasnt. I understand that some of this, you are doing assessment on this right now, is that correct, mr. Kelly . That you are now exploring the possibility of extending having two vertical, two parallel aws pipelines in my district, plus extending to the existing 12th avenue, should when the lake merced pump, that project is completed. Is that correct, mr. Kelly . Yes, that is correct. Thank you. And then i say that i, this is something that i would push for for my district. I think its the best option as according to the knowledgeable doctor, professor here, i would also look to a salt water pump to serve the residents on the west side that could actually help also all of San Francisco as we grow more dense and i know my neighborhood and supervisor tangs neighborhood will also be experiencing more density. Even more imperative that after the lake merced pump is completed, that we can maybe look at extending the awss line to actually connect to the 12th avenue line. Good, harlan . I just wanted to point out, is that you know, when we base the based on the analysis, we determined what pipes will give you, or where to place them that give you the best bang for your buck. So we dont arbitrarily say here, here, here, we actually analyze it and the other thing i would point out, it is a phase approach and so we have to, you know, i think whats really important is we get the loop in and get the first source and then look at other sources and the other challenge is that you know, trying to put a pump on the ocean side is going to be more difficult than it ever was before, given all the challenges of, you know, erosion thats happening there, and trying to put some infrastructure there will be challenging. So, we are definitely looking at all the options. I would just say that you know, we are working on the engineering portion and as you can see, we are trying to set a model so that we get equal coverage all over the city, and after we do what we have already said, there are still areas in the city that is not up to that level. And so you know, we are trying to make sure that we provide resources and get those up to the right standard as the rest of the city. Thank you, mr. Kelly, and joined by chair supervisor kim. Any questions at all . Great. I want to say thank you, i know that i came into this not really knowing much about it, and i think that we have come a really long way from our first drawings and i think it gives more coverage and looked to the continuance of two parallel pipelines again in my district and actually, that would give it a loop, and then actually the extension to connect it to the existing awss pipeline. So, i would now like to call Public Comments and i have three speaker cards. Eileen brooker, tom dudier, and ace on the case. Every speaker has two minutes. Thank you. Eileen broker, im reading a speech prepared by nancy wilfull, unable to read. A hearing on the status of the citys Emergency Water supply system since 2010, my opinion is that the sfpuc has wasted valuable time but not formulating an overall plan to expand the awss system into the citys western and southern neighborhoods. First january report of firefighting options does not include proposal to build a coast side pump station to draw water from an infinite source, Pacific Ocean. Instead supports using the west side only reservoir of Potable Water as the primary firefighting source. Second, the report correctly identifies lake merced as resource of water but does not prioritize the booster pump station. I believe the site was not prioritized because the park complex developer is supposed to fund part of the awss system over the next 20 to 30 years. So, this means that the modest cost to the lake merced pump is held hostage to that agreement. Third, the sfpuc letter, option 12, the finite Potable Water at Sunset Reservoir for drinking and firefighter, and [bell rings] Single Source will be inadequate. We need a redundant water supply. I believe they support option 12 because water rate funds could be used to offset the cost. I did not agree the citys water rate should be the underrider of the citys aws construction or maintenance, expanding the auxiliary water system needs to be on the fast track to make up for lost time. Steering committee to address the comprehensive plan. [bell rings] to provide thank you very much. Good morning, supervisors, thomas didier, retired assistant chief of the San Francisco Fire Department, 32 years of my 39 years of public service. My clock may run over but beg your indulgence. My age and the fact that i have almost four decades of service to the city. We have heard testimony that on the surface would seem to be fairly encouraging. P. U. C. And the ssfd have a plan to provide reliable High Pressure hydrant system for the two western neighborhoods. Consider that less than two years ago representatives of both these agencies and all apparent seriousness said the solution to the post earthquake firefighting was eser bond funds to purchase hose dropped from the back of flatbed trucks during the first hour following the earthquake and the hoses would fight the water from individual small fires while all the elaborate process was taking place. Clearly we have made some progress. Before we give way to a hearty round of selfcongratulations back slapping, between 1907 and 1913, engineers eyewitnesseses to the 1906 fires were able to design and build Twin Peaks Reservoir, two salt water pump stations, 77 miles of High Pressure pipelines and 887 awss hydrants [bell rings] urgency they did all this in the span of six years. Is my time up . No, it is not. In contrast, it has been almost eight years since the p. U. C. Became caretaker of the awss and just now figured out to protect two neighborhoods using Drinking Water and perhaps in ten years might be able to build a salt water pump station and convert it to a reliable system. This is clear evidence that we in San Francisco [bell rings] mr. Clerk, will we please grant him another minute. Thank you. Madam chair, through the chair to member fewer, we have to afford the same amount of time to each of the speakers who come for public comment. Ok. One more sentence. The use of Potable Water from Sunset Reservoir is not a solution to fighting the multiple things we will see in the outer sunset and Outer Richmond. So in your opinion, what is the mechanism that will give us enough water and reliability . Unlimited salt water supply on three sides of the city. To use the Drinking Water and what is very possibly a fragile system that is not redundant will not provide adequate protection. 15 million gallons of water were expended in putting out the mission bay fire in 2014. One square block. We have 43,000 wood frame structures in the Outer Richmond and outer sunset. Anybody seriously believe that 90 million gallons in Sunset Reservoir will be adequate . You think well only have six fires to deal with . I think that thats delusional. And i think we need to take a much more serious look at the unlimited water supply that surrounds the city. The only thing that will save the city of San Francisco when the earthquake hits. And may i ask you. Under my impression that we lose pressure also the farther we get from our water source. Is that true . Im sorry. We lose pressure farther from the source. Thats correct. Do you think adequately the Sunset Reservoir will have enough pressure during a catastrophe to put out the fires in the district . If you look at the hydrants on 12th avenue, initial pressures are 140 to 150 p. S. I. , ashbury tank as a source. Farther down on the hydrants, twin peak reservoirs cuts in, 260 pounds of pressure. If the p. U. C. Can guarantee the residents of the Richmond District the potable awss fed by a Single Source out of Sunset Reservoir will provide protection equal to what we have on 12th avenue, the residents in the Outer Richmond would be very happy, i would think. I dont know if they can do that and you might want to ask them if water from Sunset Reservoir will produce the same pressure. I think that would be very telling bit of information. And then ask you, too, that placement of hydrants. In your since youve had so much experience in this, in your opinion, how frequently should we have a hydrant along our corridors in the richmond . Lets say for example, the design is to have a line of hydrants down 43rd avenue. One hydrant on every block. Excuse me, is it one High Pressure hydrant on every block . One High Pressure hydrant on every block, thats correct. The reason being, that best water stream, 300 feet and a long city block is 600 feet. You have to be able to fight it from a hydrant at both ends of the block. Ok. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you. Ace on the case. I know you are with city hall but youve been around. For the record, for the clerk, the chairperson has the liberty to listen to public conversation, not no clerk. Now, clerk, could you on the screen here, this is your job, on the clerk. I want that, i want that, not until i say it. My name is ace, and im on the case. I came here specifically to talk about that, and white gentleman come up here and sing about the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees. Aint going to stop him. One black man, name is ace, been here over 25 years and shed some tears for the base. Im here, speaking on that and i support it. But im also here for black history month. I came to commend this black powerful person here, p. U. C. , i went to sleep to listen to the people that work under here and a demonstration whats happening in the city by the bay and then a clerk come up to me and say ace, what are you going to get up there and say . What the hell is going on here . Anyway, back to whats going on. My name is ace, yall, im on the case. Its a new year. Dont want to share no tears, im on a mission, dont need your permission. Starting a new tv show here yall, its called this week at city hall, im going to tell it all. Congratulate the Water Department. This is tremendous and i commend you for bringing them up here. By the way, my time is up, and ill have a little bit more to say. When they hear that, they are going to try to take me away. Im here to say if yall dont do the right thing, ace, im going to start filing complaints. You hear what im thinking . See, when you file complaints you have to have some kind of theory, you have to have what they call excuse me, oh here, i want to show some black history month. I commend you, brother, our black community commend you, you are powerful and you are white [bell rings] thank you, ace. One more minute. I want to show this. I mean he got the chance to speak. I questioned him. I just want to show how racial the city. All the white people over there. Go over there, and i 21 years. So i want to control that. We have to change that. Thank you so much for your comments. Thank you, ace, we just want to say thanks for what you have to say and we hope that you have and wonderful day. Thank you. Black history. So, i just want to close and say thank you so much to our presenters today. I want to appreciate again the work they have done and getting us to this point. Thank you so much. Mr. Kelly and your staff and the Fire Department. Ive been pushing hard for the best Emergency Water system possible for my neighborhood and the west side of San Francisco, and the San Francisco p. U. C. And the Fire Department have been incredibly responsive and open during this process. I do want to say assuming we move forward with the system that looks close to what we discussed today, i hope it can be completed before the big one hits. We are now on borrowed time and a major earthquake is not an if, but a when. I look forward to continuing to work with the p. U. C. And the Fire Department as well as my colleagues on the board to finalizing this plan and identifying funding to make it a reality. Any additional comments from my colleagues . Seeing none, i would like to make a motion to file this hearing. So, we have motion to file this hearing, and we can dot