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Supervisors press agencies on $1.6 billion plan to expand San Francisco’s earthquake firefighting water system
Summary
San Francisco agencies told the Board of Supervisors’ audit committee they model a post‑quake demand of about 240,000 gallons per minute and estimate roughly $1.6 billion (2021 dollars) to build citywide Emergency Firefighting Water System (EFWS) improvements, while the BLA recommended a long‑term financing plan and multiple revenue options.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Board of Supervisors’ Government Audit and Oversight Committee heard detailed briefings Nov. 18 on the city’s plan to expand its Emergency Firefighting Water System after a civil grand jury report urged faster action.
John Scarpulla of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission told the committee his team’s modeling of a 7.9 San Andreas‑fault earthquake indicates the citywide water requirement to fight ignition patterns typical of that scenario is about 240,000 gallons per minute for roughly 25 hours. Scarpulla said that, under current pipeline plans and projected development, the Westside phases 1 and 2 would account for about 37,000 of that total gallons‑per‑minute demand and that connecting Lake Merced would be the fastest way to provide a multi‑week water supply to…
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