With the coronavirus pandemic preventing in-person visits to the SFPUC’s sites, the agency is embarking on an innovative new program that will offer virtual tours of its watersheds, facilities and other properties, including some locations that never been visited before by the public.

By moving to virtual tours, the SFPUC can still connect with residents and customers as there has always been a strong demand for tours.

Called the SFPUC Source: Virtual Explorations, these one-hour tours will take place Wednesdays at 1 p.m. over the summer and early fall, with each event being conducted through the Blue Jeans Events platform. Attendees will see exclusive videos and photos of SFPUC as part of the tours.

The first virtual tour will take place Wednesday July 22, 2020 and will focus on the Sierra Nevada portion of the water system and its history, including an overview of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which provides 85 percent of the water that serves the SFPUC’s 2.7 million customers. Steve Ritchie, the SFPUC’s Assistant General Manager for Water, will provide a history of the construction of the reservoir, including an overview of the O’Shaughnessy Dam and the formation of the water system that connects the Sierra Nevada to San Francisco.

Other planned virtual tours will explore the SFPUC’s water and sewer systems, its watershed properties on the Peninsula and the East Bay, and green infrastructure projects underway in San Francisco. Additionally, virtual visits will examine the SFPUC’s power system, pollution prevention programs and the agency’s Sewer System Improvement Program, a 20-year citywide investment to upgrade and improve the City’s sewer system.

Each tour will be conducted by a policy expert from the SFPUC. Attendees who take part in three sessions will receive an exclusive virtual prize. Attendees who make five sessions will be entered to win SFPUC gifts such as reusable water bottles and more.