Port officials tell oversight committee seismic and flood work for Embarcadero Seawall is moving into project selection after litigation delay

Brad Benson, Port of San Francisco waterfront resilience director, and Carlos Colon, waterfront program administrator, updated the Citizens General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee on the 2018 Embarcadero Seawall earthquake safety bond and the wider waterfront resilience program. Benson said litigation over ballot materials delayed the first sale but that the city—s appeals were resolved and the Port issued an initial sale on June 2 in the amount of roughly $49.7 million. He said the port has been using operating revenues and state grants to advance work in the interim and plans to reimburse eligible expenses from bond proceeds.

Benson described a two-year multi-hazard risk assessment that examined multiple earthquake scenarios and sea-level-rise projections. He summarized the assessment—s high-end finding that combined seismic and flood damages and disruption could reach as much as $30 billion by the end of the century if no mitigation occurs. "We—ve just completed a more than two-year multi-hazard risk assessment to inform work on the Embarcadero Seawall area," Benson said, underscoring the scale of risk to waterfront infrastructure including roadways, utility assets, pile-supported structures at Fisherman—s Wharf and the Ferry Building area.

The presentation described a menu of seismic approaches under development to reduce lateral spreading and liquefaction risk: new nearshore or landside buttresses, drilling large-diameter shafts beneath travel lanes, "super-bulkhead" pile work to stabilize the seawall in shallow areas, and targeted retrofits to reduce liquefaction effects. For flood risk, staff described conceptual measures under review in the Army Corps focused array: levees, floodwalls, raising structures, deployable barriers and ecological approaches in portions of the southern waterfront.

Benson said the Army Corps of Engineers is conducting a seven-year flood resiliency study with a 50/50 cost share; if the Corps finds a federal interest, federal funding could cover roughly two-thirds of the construction cost with a one-third local match. He described the federal process as an iterative planning study that would culminate in a tentatively selected plan and a feasibility report to Congress, including environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Carlos Colon described the current bond funding snapshot: approximately $78 million in bond allocations, a $5 million state grant, and an $11.5 million port loan that advanced the program during the litigation delay. He said the revolving fund contribution of $9 million was partially reimbursed after the first sale, with an additional $3 million to be repaid in the next fiscal year. Colon noted contract commitments in the program, including about $9.3 million encumbered in the CH2M contract and a projected CH2M spend of roughly $12 million this calendar year.

Committee members pressed staff for schedule precision. Benson said CEQA and design work are expected to continue through 2023 and into 2024, with construction of initial Proposition A projects targeted to begin in 2024, but he emphasized the schedule depends on which projects the Port Commission selects for bond funding. Staff plans to present alternatives to the Port Commission in the April—May timeframe and return in June or July with recommendations for the initial Proposition A projects and associated CEQA processes.

Member Post praised the presentation and asked the controller—s audit team to prioritize expenditure oversight for the Seawall program as large contracts come online; the controller—s office confirmed the Seawall safety audit is in its future work plan.

Next steps: Port staff will present alternatives to the Port Commission in spring, recommend initial Proposition A projects by early summer, begin CEQA and more detailed investigation once projects are endorsed, and continue coordinating with the Army Corps flood study that could enable significant federal cost share.