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City to authorize long‑term dam engineering agreements; public urges stronger oversight
Summary
The committee recommended authorizing three long‑term SFPUC dam and reservoir engineering agreements (three contracts, $11M each over 11 years) to support dam inspection and improvements following updated state dam safety orders; one public commenter urged broader independent assessments and criticized incumbent engineering firms.
The Budget and Finance Committee recommended authorizing professional engineering services agreements for dam and reservoir planning and design, part of the SFPUC’s dam inspection and capital improvement program.
Calvin Huey of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission said the contracts (three agreements at $11 million each over 11 years) follow a September 2019 request for proposals and a post‑Oroville regulatory environment that increased dam safety oversight. Huey said the SFPUC manages a complex water system including 18 dams and reservoirs under DSOD (the Division of Safety of Dams) jurisdiction and is proactively procuring specialized services such as geotechnical, hydrology, hydraulics and structural engineering. The evaluation panel selected AECOM, HDR and GEI as the three highest ranked proposers; HDR would cover Moccasin and O’Shaughnessy reservoirs, the BLA told the committee.
A public commenter raised concerns about repeated contracts to the same engineering firms and urged comprehensive assessments to address apparent water loss and aging infrastructure. The BLA recommended approval, listing the dams and reservoirs each contract would cover and noting a third contract would come forward for Board authorization in the near term. The committee forwarded the resolutions to the full Board with a positive recommendation.
