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Committee backs PUC contract amendments for East Bay water projects and Hetch Hetchy operations
Summary
The Budget and Finance Committee recommended two sets of amendments to San Francisco Public Utilities Commission professional services contracts: an increase to a construction management contract for East Bay projects and increases to four operations/technical contracts for Hetch Hetchy, citing project delays, scope growth and staffing needs.
The Budget and Finance Committee on April 9 voted to forward two PUC contract amendments to the full Board of Supervisors with positive recommendations.
Item 3 would increase a construction management professional services agreement (Pro 140A) with a joint venture led by CPM/Brown & Caldwell from $9 million to $34 million and extend the contract by two years to June 2030. PUC staff and project manager James Sakai said construction costs and durations for three East Bay Region projects — the Alameda Creek recapture, the Sunol/San Antonio (Sono Valley) water treatment plant ozonation project, and short‑term improvements — rose significantly since the original 2020 estimate. The ozonation construction contract increased from an estimated $85 million to a $235 million awarded contract after bids; PUC said the corresponding need for construction management staff and escalation drove the requested amendment.
Item 4 would increase four professional services agreements that support operations and maintenance of the Hetch Hetchy water and power system from $7.5 million to $13 million each (four contractors), funded by utility revenues. Margaret Hannaford of Hetch Hetchy described increased use of the contracts to address aging infrastructure, regulatory requirements (including wildfire management), staffing and specialized technical needs (including transmission tower condition assessments and electronics maintenance training), and the division’s use of short‑term contractors to fill skill gaps while training staff.
The department and the Budget and Legislative Analyst recommended approval, noting that construction management fees represented roughly 11% of total construction contract value on the East Bay projects and that the PUC’s proposed increases reflected project scope growth, delayed start dates and escalation. The committee recorded aye votes from Vice Chair Matt Dorsey, Supervisor Joe Engardio and Chair Connie Chan and forwarded both items to the full board.
