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SFPUC updates on Mountain Tunnel repairs, Cherry Dam valve emergency and Moccasin work
Summary
SFPUC staff reported inspection and repairs on the Mountain Tunnel (about 7,600 linear feet repaired), said the agency is leaning toward repair rather than building a new tunnel, and described emergency work at Cherry Dam that will require partial reservoir drawdown and a request to increase project scope and budget.
Dan Wade presented the Hetch Hetchy Water and Power capital-improvement quarterly report on June 13, outlining schedule and cost variances and several urgent repairs.
Wade recapped recent work on Mountain Tunnel, saying staff completed a scheduled shutdown and repaired roughly 7,600 linear feet of tunnel lining after inspecting the entire 19-mile facility. "We inspected and identified a number of defects that were repaired," Wade said, and said staff completed internal construction work and installed new monitoring equipment during a 60-day shutdown.
Wade said the commission is currently "leaning away" from building a new tunnel and instead toward a repair alternative, with a formal decision expected this summer after finalizing reports and documentation.
On Cherry Dam outlet works rehabilitation, Wade told the commission that staff discovered guard valves upstream of planned cone-valve replacements could not be fully shut off and that both guard valves require repair. That finding will force a controlled drawdown of the reservoir to complete the work; Wade said additional scope and a budget increase are being requested for the project and that restoring the reservoir before winter is a priority.
Wade also summarized other capital projects, including Moccasin facilities new construction (about 30% complete), substation schedule coordination with the independent system operator, and inspection-related delays on the San Joaquin pipeline and Lower Tule Aqueduct that involve right-of-way negotiations with federal partners.
Public commenters praised Dan Wade and urged legal review of prior consultant assessments; the commission did not authorize a new tunnel design at this meeting but treated the Cherry Dam repairs as an urgent capital scope issue to be addressed through consent and budget processes.
