PUC reports recycled water timetable and $4.8B WISP nearing completion

Dan Wade, director of water capital programs, briefed commissioners on the Water Enterprise capital improvement program and the Water System Improvement Program (WISP).

Wade highlighted Sunol Yard long‑term improvements as approximately 94 percent complete for yard work with watershed center design nearly finished and advertising expected in April. He said the powdered activated carbon system at the Snow Valley treatment plant was ready before a planned mountain tunnel shutdown, though it has not been needed yet.

Wade reported responsive bids for the San Andreas Pipeline No. 2 replacement were under or near the engineer’s estimate and that construction is expected to begin in late spring. On recycled water, he said the San Francisco Recycled Water Treatment Plant construction continues and that the Westside recycled water project is about 28 percent complete. That Westside project is designed to deliver up to 2 million gallons per day (MGD) on average, with peak deliveries up to 4 MGD during summer; Wade said recycled water service is scheduled to be available in March 2022.

On the Water System Improvement Program, Wade said the $4.8 billion program is about 97 percent complete overall. Key remaining items include the Calaveras Dam replacement (a 220‑foot embankment with roughly 4 million cubic yards of earth and rock fill) and regional groundwater storage recovery. Wade described the bioregional habitat restoration construction as complete and noted the start of long‑term monitoring programs.

Commissioners questioned Appendix C (staffing FTE forecast) and Wade explained the chart shows baseline vs. actual FTEs and that a dip in actuals reflects delays to the regional groundwater recovery wells; he said staff expects to catch up later in the program.