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SFPUC updates WESIP schedule and urges 10% voluntary conservation while advancing local-hire plans
Summary
PUC staff reported WESIP contracting milestones and water-storage status (system storage ~77%, Tuolumne forecast ~93% of average). The Small Firm Advisory Committee outlined outreach that has certified roughly 90 small firms; commissioners discussed strengthening local-hire and apprenticeship enforcement.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission staff reported progress on the Water System Improvement Program (WESIP) and presented a water-supply update that showed the system in relatively strong shape while urging continued conservation.
Julie Labonte, reporting on WESIP, said multiple construction contracts were recently advertised or would be advertised soon, including Alameda Siphon No. 4, University Mound Reservoir work, Lawrence Livermore water-quality improvements and a split Centimeters contract for Peninsula projects that the PUC estimated at about $25 million for eight projects and about $16 million for the Harry Tracy project.
Deputy General Manager Michael Carlin provided a water-supply briefing: "we're standing at about 77% full at this time," he said, while noting Hetch Hetchy storage at about 67% and a Tuolumne River forecast at about 93% of average. Carlin said staff saw less than a 1% chance of mandatory 10% rationing this year and recommended continued voluntary 10% conservation. "We believe that 10% voluntary conservation is a good ethic to continue this water year," he said.
The Small Firm Advisory Committee presented outreach results and planning for contractor fairs and networking: Estella Torano said the committee had helped certify about 90 small construction firms in the service territory and organized outreach events to connect primes and local subcontractors. "One of our purposes as a committee is to provide advice and support to San Francisco PUC staff and to your commission," Torano said.
Commissioners and outside guests then discussed local-hire mechanisms, apprenticeship utilization and how to make goals enforceable on regional projects located outside San Francisco city limits. Moses Delas Reyes, Alameda County contract and labor compliance administrator, described active monitoring and apprenticeship referrals his office uses to encourage local hiring on public works projects, including a system to provide prime contractors with lists of registered county apprentices at pre-construction meetings.
Why it matters: WESIP is a multi-year set of capital programs that will create large regional construction work. How the PUC, unions and local governments translate goals for local hire and apprenticeship into enforceable results will affect job opportunities in San Francisco and neighboring counties as projects move into construction.
What’s next: Staff said additional outreach and policy work will continue, including forming broader advisory bodies to track apprentice utilization and local-hire implementation and returning to commissioners with more specific proposals and metrics.
