Politics & Government
Answers on Water Main Break Will Come By End of Year
San Francisco Public Utilities Assistant General Manager Steve Ritchie spoke to the city council Wednesday night about the water main burst that sent over a million gallons of water onto the streets.
Correction: The original version of this story said the results of the SFPUC report would be available by the end of the week. In fact, the report will be complete by the end of the year.
An investigation by an independent expert will reveal the cause of the that sent one to two million gallons of water flowing down Elm Court by the end of the year, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission told the city council Wednesday evening.
“We had a significant failure of our system in South San Francisco which we deeply regret,” said Steve Ritchie, SFPUC assistant general manager.
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As a result of the pipe break, the SFPUC will be conducting a conservative evaluation of the 35 pipe connections in the Water System Improvement Program in order to make certain that similar incidents will not take place.
The SFPUC had upgraded the water main on Elm Court two weeks before the burst as part of the .
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“We see things we can do better,” Ritchie said.
Vice Mayor Pedro Gonzalez was concerned with amount of time taken to cover the pipe and stop the water flow after it burst. The task was completed in approximately two and a half hours.
Ritchie explained that the pipe had to be closed slowly in order to prevent water hammer, a surge of pressure resulting from fluid being abruptly stopped.
Councilmember Kevin Mullin spoke of his concern for the lack of communication between the SFPUC and the city council. The council received an informational email 72 hours after the pipe failure, he said.
“The entire neighborhood was affected by this,” Mullin said. “This was a major, major incident in this neighborhood.”
Councilmember Karyl Matsumoto mirrored Mullin’s words as she said community members look to the council for answers.
“Our staff needs to be right on top of this,” Matsumoto said.
As SFPUC continues their investigation, Gonzalez stressed the need for the commission to identify if the break happened due to poor workmanship or poor pipeline materials.
The independent expert, Ritchie said, would have a full report in approximately two weeks.
The council urged Ritchie to find answers quickly and in communication with city officials.
