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Committee hears update on West Side emergency firefighting water system; item continued for follow‑up
Summary
SFPUC and Fire Department staff briefed the Board’s Land Use and Transportation Committee July 28 on phased plans to build a seismically resilient, high‑pressure potable emergency firefighting water backbone on the city’s West Side; the committee continued the hearing for further analysis and outreach.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee on July 28 received an update from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Fire Department on the Emergency Firefighting Water System (EFWS) program for the West Side and continued the hearing to the call of the chair for further follow‑up.
Katie Miller, director of Water Capital Programs for the SFPUC, said work to date has included cistern installations, reservoir and pump station upgrades and pipeline improvements funded by voter‑approved Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response (EASER) bonds. She said a 2021 high‑level study estimated citywide build‑out costs at roughly $4 billion. Miller said the PUC increased its committed water‑bond allocation for the potable EFWS from $55 million to $145 million in its 10‑year capital plan and that the team is preparing shovel‑ready pipeline contracts through Richmond and Sunset corridors to be available should a future EASER 2028 measure and additional water bond funding be secured.
Miller said one alignment change moved a pipeline to the Sunset Boulevard corridor, which she and Fire Department Assistant Deputy Chief Gareth Miller said creates a strategic fire break and improves department access. Staff described full‑scale field tests in Golden Gate Park in which more than 3,400 feet of 5‑inch hose were deployed to validate operational assumptions. SFPUC staff noted pipeline diameters in the EFWS design reach about 42 inches with trenches roughly 10 feet deep, contributing to higher construction costs than early estimates.
Committee members asked about cost increases (witnesses said per‑mile costs had been estimated at roughly $15 million previously and have been updated in design to about $42 million per mile), model updates to account for future housing and electrification trends, and how the system fits with potable water resilience from the Water System Improvement Program. Miller said the team is updating strategic planning and demand models through 2050 and will revisit southern and southeast areas in follow‑up work. Fire Department staff emphasized tactical deployment to create fire breaks and the need to be able to supply long hose runs from EFWS hydrants to outer neighborhoods.
Public commenters raised concerns and suggestions including use of seawater/dedicated nonpotable firefighting supplies, the need for rapid PUC transparency on program decisions and requests for further modeling for southern and southeast neighborhoods. The committee voted to continue the item to the call of the chair for further updates and further coordination between PUC and the Fire Department.
