SFPUC endorses revised sewer-improvement baseline, emphasizing Southeast plant upgrades and flood resilience

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on March 22 endorsed an updated baseline for its Sewer System Improvement Program, reaffirming Phase 1 priorities and approving an amended budget and schedule to move key treatment-plant projects forward.

Staff told the commission the rebaseline maintains Phase 1 priorities — biosolids, headworks and permit compliance — and refines project scope and timing after condition assessments and design work. Karen Kubik, Director of the Sewers Improvement Program, said the updated approach reduces some Phase 2 tunnel and pump-station scope and keeps Phase 1 near the previously authorized $2.7 billion level while lowering the overall program estimate from about $6.93 billion in 2012 to roughly $6.5 billion under current assumptions. "We've completed prioritization and refinement and have more accurate schedules and budgets," Kubik said during the presentation.

Program staff described the largest near-term savings as arising from a smaller Central Bayside tunnel and a scaled-back Westside pump-station expansion; Dan Donahue, the program's pre-construction technical advisor, said analyses showed a 24-foot tunnel could meet redundancy needs rather than a 30-foot tunnel. Staff also proposed adding interdepartmental projects and flood-resiliency work that could raise Phase 1 spending toward $2.9 billion if the Commission authorizes the additions.

The public record at the meeting showed strong community support for accelerating improvements to the Southeast Sewage Treatment Plant in Bayview-Hunters Point. Linda Sanders read a letter from Pastor Bryant urging immediate approval because the plant "treats nearly 80% of the city's sewage" and neighbors have endured persistent odor and health concerns. Eloise Patton, a lifelong Bayview resident, framed the upgrades as an environmental-justice issue: "Improving the Southeast plant is an environmental justice issue. We cannot afford further delays."

Commissioners asked staff to return with a flood-resiliency analysis this summer and to provide more detail on schedule, staging and impacts to rates. Staff noted that Phase 1 construction sequencing pressures extended some schedules by roughly a year and that Phase 2 workshops will begin in 2017 to inform authorization timing and affordability assessments.

After discussion and public comment, a motion to approve the amended baseline budget and schedule carried on a voice vote. The Commission also directed staff to report back with more detailed flood-resiliency recommendations and to continue coordination with other city departments on interdepartmental opportunities.

The Commission's action endorses the SSIP rebaseline and authorizes staff to proceed under the revised Phase 1 scope and schedule; specific construction authorizations for Phase 2 projects will return to the Commission for separate approvals.