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Committee forwards groundwater storage CEQA findings and approves PUC communications leases
Summary
The committee advanced CEQA findings and a conditional release of reserved funds for a regional groundwater storage and recovery project and approved three PUC telecom site agreements (25‑year leases) for improved radio communications across the water system.
The Budget & Finance committee advanced a package of San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) items: committee members forwarded a CEQA resolution for the regional groundwater storage and recovery project to the full Board of Supervisors and discussed the contingent release of $33,490,259 in previously appropriated water revenue bond reserves to fund the project's $113,580,000 budget. Separately, the committee approved real‑estate agreements to upgrade PUC radio communications by leasing three non‑PUC sites.
Dan Wade, director of the Water System Improvement Program at SFPUC, described the groundwater project as one of the program's largest, creating an underground storage reservoir equivalent to roughly 60,000 acre‑feet and installing 16 wells capable of extracting up to 7.2 million gallons per day in emergencies or prolonged drought. Wade said the project would supply surface water to partner agencies (including Daly City, San Bruno and California Water Company) during wet years so partner agencies would refrain from pumping groundwater during recharge, thereby increasing basin storage.
The budget analyst summarized funding: the total project budget is $113,580,000, with $33,490,259 on reserve and recommended releasing that amount contingent on the board's adoption of the CEQA findings.
On Item 3, Tony Bartle, assistant real estate director for the PUC, asked the committee to approve three agreements for communications upgrades that include a lease with Communication & Control, Inc. at Mount Allison (Alameda County) for an initial annual rent of approximately $57,000 (with 3% annual increases), a sublease amendment at Livermore Hills (Contra Costa) for about $14,900 annually, and a license with TriStar Investor Inc. at Modesto (Stanislaus) for about $18,600 annually. The committee approved Item 3 without objection.
The committee clarified a procedural point: the release of reserves for the groundwater project (Item 2) would be contingent upon the full board's adoption of the CEQA resolution (Item 1). The CEQA resolution was forwarded to the full board with the committee's recommendation.
What happens next: the board will consider the CEQA findings and the contingent release of funds at its full meeting; the PUC will proceed with contracting steps and advertise construction as planned, subject to final funding and contracting timelines.
