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SFPUC reports 16-inch main break on Valencia; pressure restored within two hours
Summary
The PUC reported a 16-inch water main break at 26th and Valencia that lowered pressure in the general hospital area; crews restored pressure and service within about two hours, and staff will perform failure analysis on the recovered pipe segment.
Michael Carlin, assistant general manager for water, told commissioners crews responded to a 16-inch main break on Valencia Street that caused a pressure loss in the zone serving the area near San Francisco General Hospital. He said crews restored pressure and service within about two hours and the 16-inch main was back in service that evening.
Carlin said the failed pipe appears to have been old and was approximately eight feet below street level. Staff recovered a section of the pipe and will conduct a failure analysis to determine the cause, which could include age, settling or other subsurface conditions. He noted that large-diameter failures are infrequent but can be dramatic; the system includes roughly 1,200 miles of mains and about 15,000 valves.
No customers were reported out of service overnight, and staff will follow up with a written failure analysis once the investigation is complete.
