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PUC outlines options and steep costs to address chronic flooding at Seventeenth and Folsom
Summary
The Public Utilities Commission described short and long-term measures to reduce flooding at Seventeenth and Folsom, from grant-funded backflow preventers and sandbags to studying an underground storage tank and a possible $1.25 billion tunnel and conveyance program; residents and businesses urged an expanded grant program and faster action.
The Neighborhood Services and Safety Committee heard a technical briefing from the Public Utilities Commission on recurring stormwater flooding at Seventeenth and Folsom, a historic low point that captures runoff from several watersheds. PUC staff described near-term operational efforts, a grant program to reimburse residents for flood barriers and backflow preventers, and mid- and long-term engineering options including storage tanks and a major conveyance tunnel.
Emilio Cruz (AGM, PUC infrastructure) explained that the area is a natural collection point in a combined sewer system; the PUC has increased cleaning operations (since Feb. 2013: ~1,800 tons of debris removed), deployed a sandbag program and started a grant program for backflow-preventer installations and water gates. The PUC reported 153 claims citywide related to recent storms totaling about $2.7 million, with 90 claims at Seventeenth & Folsom totaling about $1.7 million (cleanup costs ~ $1.1 million in that area).
Cruz described a feasibility analysis for constructing an underground storage basin beneath a proposed park; an 800,000-gallon tank would cost about $20 million but would provide limited benefit. To materially address the city’s five-year design storm the PUC estimated the need for about 1.5 million gallons of capture capacity (and up to 3 million gallons to cover variability)—the latter compared in the presentation to "a football field 7 feet tall." A broader solution would require building a new central Bayside conveyance system (roughly $1 billion) plus a connector tunnel (approx. $250 million) to eliminate 5-year-storm flooding at the Seventeenth & Folsom low point.
Public comment included business and property owners (Northeast Mission Business Association, Rainbow Grocery, Stable Cafe, and others) who described repeated annual flooding, inventory and revenue losses, and criticized sandbag and operational measures as insufficient. Many speakers urged expanding the PUC grant program, exploring smaller short-term pump or storage solutions targeted to specific properties, and establishing a community-technical working group.
PUC staff said they are developing white papers for Seventeenth & Folsom and other hotspots (Cayuga), are exploring acquiring private property for resilience projects, and welcomed a committee-led working group to develop concrete short-, mid-, and long-term steps. Committee members agreed to continue follow-up and form community-technical collaboration.
