In the Ashbury Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, one might have seen water consistently flowing out of a certain fire hydrant recently. The SFPUC has an explanation for that. In order to create a new connection between the Twin Peaks and Ashbury systems, SFPUC crews needed to cut into the pipeline in order to create…
Category: Infrastructure
Tires, Pajamas and Keys: A Treasure Hunt Inside San Francisco’s Sewers
What is the place where poo, pee and toilet paper come together? The toilet, which is connected to the sewer system. But what else can one find in the sewer? In San Francisco, there are three wastewater treatment plants that treat the sanitary sewage (what is flushed down toilets or goes through kitchen or bathroom…
A Look Back in History: Crystal Springs Reservoir
The photo above is from 1960 and is a north facing aerial view of Crystal Springs Reservoir. Crystal Springs Reservoir is a pair of artificial lakes located in the rift valley created by the San Andreas Fault to the west of the cities of San Mateo and Hillsborough. The lakes are part of the San…
Meet the Snake with Racing Stripes at the Alameda Creek Watershed
In the Sunol Valley, there is a special species of snake that lives in the Alameda Creek Watershed. It is no other than the Alameda whipsnake, or sometimes called the Alameda Striped Racer, (Masticophis lateralis euryxanthus), a subspecies of the California whipsnake (Masticophis lateralis). It has made the coastal scrub, chaparral, and grassland habitats in…
Getting the Perfect Shot, a Filmmaker’s Journey to O’Shaughnessy Dam
Some people may know that the backbone of the SFPUC’s Regional Water System is the O’Shaughnessy Dam. This dam has long been recognized as an engineering marvel, but not many people really know why. To answer that question, and provide the wider world a glimpse of the marvels of the O’Shaughnessy Dam, SFPUC staff leapt…
Bats are Here and Everywhere
Today is Halloween and images of bats are everywhere. Just like the real thing. Bats are especially plentiful where there is water and warm weather. Bats are migratory creatures and need long stretches of land to hunt for insects. Development fragments their habitat making it difficult to be able to hunt and roost. Bats consume…