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SFPUC approves WESIP contingency increases and several construction awards
Summary
The commission approved contingency increases for Sun Oak Valley treatment plant and Lower Crystal Springs dam due to unforeseen site conditions, environmental mitigation and schedule acceleration, and awarded specialized habitat mitigation and other contracts on the WESIP program.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission approved several contract actions and contingency increases tied to the Water System Improvement Program (WESIP) on Tuesday, citing unforeseen site conditions, environmental constraints, and schedule requirements.
Key approvals: commissioners approved an increase of $14,000,000 to the pre‑approved construction contingency for the Sun Oak Valley water treatment plant expansion and treated water reservoir contract (bringing the contingency to $22,310,216 and the total contract to up to $105,412,376). Staff said the project is 45 percent complete and needs additional work driven by field discoveries (discrepancies between as‑built drawings and site conditions), additional scope requested by the Water Enterprise and contaminated soil and nesting bird protections. "These treatment facility projects are some of our more challenging projects," WESIP director Julie Labonte said.
Lower Crystal Springs dam: the commission also approved a $2,257,000 increase in contingency for dam improvements (total contingency $3,993,000) to accommodate dewatering delays, additional hazardous material removals and unexpected rock conditions on a dam originally built in the 19th century.
Habitat and wetlands work: commissioners authorized a contract (not to exceed $6,499,000) to perform wetland compensation and habitat reserve work at Homestead Pond, San Andreas Reservoir Wetlands and Adobe Grasslands after negotiating down a sole bidder by roughly $500,000.
Why it matters: the actions adjust budgetary reserves and reflect the realities of rehabilitating aging infrastructure and performing mitigation in environmentally sensitive areas. Staff said the additional costs would be covered mostly by scope additions in the enterprise capital program and WESIP reserves; the project teams emphasized efforts to control change orders and limit remobilization costs.
Next steps: the general manager is authorized to execute approved contract modifications within the new contingency limits; staff will provide follow‑up memos on market interest and procurement steps for future habitat and elevator maintenance procurements as requested by commissioners.
