SAN FRANCISCO HAS CHOSEN TO DEFY THE LAWS AND PUT INNOCENT WORKERS IN HARMS WAY - SAN FRANCISCO WAS A UNION CITY - NO MORE - SFPUC HAS BEEN EXPOSED - THE MANY RESERVOIRS CONTAMINATED - DEFERRED MAINTANENCE.

 

https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/51038?view_id=22&meta_id=1189832&redirect=true

 

When the SF Water Department fired the three workers, it was an act of retaliation of the worst kind.

The stupidity of Dennis Herrera knows no bounds; he will leave the SFPUC with a prize on his head — and a corrupt, good-for-nothing sucker.

This failure to make the victim and their families suffer for over one and a half years cries to heaven for justice and fair play/

When the workers from Union 261 went to Union 261 for help, they were told the Union could do nothing.

Most Unions in San Francisco are quick to collect dues, make deals with the crooks, and have failed those Union workers who work hard and are treated with disdain,

San Francisco is a Union City —we all remember Bloody Thursday, July 5, 1934.

We must honor those who laid down their lives so that we may better understand our freedom and rights, set standards, and address quality-of-life issues.

The SF Police Department fired on our longshoremen on our waterfront, killing two longshoremen, Nicholas Bordoise and Howard Sperry. Hundreds of others who protested were injured.

It is a sad day when we learn that today's Union favors the greedy and fails to stand by our hardworking Union workers.

SFPUC is a corrupt entity, an Enterprise Department, bringing in millions by charging clients for drinking water. 

In recent years, the reservoirs have been contaminated, and San Franciscans have no clue that this is an emergency.

Deferred maintenance and poor leadership are responsible for this nonsense. 

We have a General Manager who is an attorney, not an engineer; he makes $600,000. He has no clue about the contaminated reservoirs.

At first, the SFPUC Plumbers would clean the reservoirs, a project named "Confined Space." 

Those in charge are trained and certified and must maintain strict standards: working underground, some forty to fifty feet down, the drinking water has to be drained, and the entire area, the size of a football field or two, sanitized using sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, and Chlorine dioxide.

SFPUC has deferred maintenance and has failed to train and certify workers to date. The laborers, who for a long time were sent into harm's way, that is, until we brought it to the attention of the SF Water Department managers, William Taehan and Frank Jordon, their supervisor, Steven Richie, and Steve Richie's boss, Dennis Herrera and Ronald Flynn.

We went before the SFPUC and spoke Truth to power.

We went before the SF Inspector General and the SF Controller.

Every second and fourth Tuesday after October 28, 2025, we made sure to attend the SF Public Utilities Commission — a Cabal of sorts — and to speak to them in no uncertain terms. 

No entity should bully innocent, hardworking employees — not SFPUC, not any employees who work hard and believe in standards. SFPUC will fall flat on their face — they already have.

We approached the SF Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and they investigated, and SFPUC was indicted on five counts:

www.osha.gov

  1. No pre-entry training and rescue.

  2. No confined Space training and rescue.

  3. No testing of the air inside before entry.

  4. No stand-by person.

  5. No radio communication.

San Francisco Public Utilities has 15 days to respond to SF OSHA— and has nothing but one alternative — they better comply — and, for the first time, admit that they have, with intent, failed to maintain standards. 

No agency has committed atrocities linked to putting innocent employees in harm's way — but the SF Water Department — leading the way, William Taehan and Frank Jordon — it's time you two step down and fade into oblivion.

San Francisco gets its water from Hetch Hetchy, close to Yosemite National Park.

The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir has natural granite walls, and the Tuolumne River delivers water into the Reservoir, where it is mismanaged. 

For thousands of years, the water was guarded by the indigenous people of the once-famous Hetch Hetchy Valley, the Paiute, Yokuts, Sierra Miwok, and Washoe tribes, most of whom have lived in the area for over 7000 years.

Unlike the others who take their water and flush the toilets — folks who have no conscience, no empathy, no clue about history and less about geography, social culture, the filthy rich, and most importantly, those who have no spirituality — who have taken sacred water and desecrated it— the Water — Water is Life!

There are those who came here some 300 years ago — seeking refuge and freedom of religion. Today, they think they belong to the privileged class — far from it; they are a disgrace to the human race.

These folks who were treated well by the indigenous people bit the hand that fed them. This history is not written in detail — but Truth be told — the Whites have turned their backs on the indigenous people and Turtle Island.

We have folks who do not respect the indigenous and, in like manner, have no respect for nature — all they think is themselves — selfish to the core and a nuisance to society and the environment.

The wise Indigenous tell us to take only what we need and leave more for future generations.

Right now, we have a $40 trillion deficit. How can we accrue so much debt and leave it to future generations to deal with the headache?

The SFPUC started with a $6 billion budget to cover its operations and other needs — today that budget has reached $15 billion and will soon be $25 billion — mostly due to crooks double-dipping and making tons of money that they do not deserve.

These ignorant folks have no clue about Life. 

All sorts of Life — the trees, the plants, the birds, the animals, the fish — have no clue, nor deep understanding, of the salmon and other fish. The rivers in and around Yosemite and the Salmon's's and other fish go hand in hand.

At one time, our forests were pristine, the air clean, the lakes, rivers, and streams clean and wholesome, the plants and fruits were free of pesticides; you all know what I mean. Today, without knowing it, we poison our bodies, and most folks do not give a damn.

I traveled the world and saw it all — I know what I talk about — today we have an idiot in the White House — and among us — autocrats who do not respect our Constitution.

Our Founding Fathers respected the Earth and wrote about their love for gardening and other natural things; it was not all about politics.

The SFPUC took on the Environmental Protection Agency and took them to the Supreme Court, wasting millions of our taxpayers' money. The issue: the Clean Water Act. The SFPUC neutralized that ACT that we all fought for. Such are the ways of the wicked.

The SFPUC will fall on its face; there is more to come. We had to bring the abject corruption to everyone's attention. I see the gadflies who were sitting on the wall fall one by one.

There was a time, long before the Salmon's's had arrived, when fires were lit by the rivers to welcome the Salmon's. Such rituals went on for thousands of years, until the Whites came and fucked it all.

My name is Francisco Da Costa, and when we took up this case, the SFPU Commissioners did not respond to us because they had no clue about the "Confined Space" issues.

The SFPU Commissioners have no clue about what they are doing, and when there is a need for a needs assessment, they call in the consultants, some of whom hang around the SFPUC, raking in millions.

We have no engineer worth the salt, not one SFPU Commissioner an engineer, none who chronologically know what has happened in the past years, three decades or more.

The morale among the employees is at an all-time low — many managers are bullying the employees and using micromanagement to treat the employees like slaves.

This is San Francisco; we will checkmate those whom we do not want to ruin, bullying our SFPUC employees, disgracing the good name of the City's and County of San Francisco.

The SFPU Commissioner was ignorant — and it was a pity — to see these Commissioners — the look of their faces — they had no clue they would be exposed, and rightly so,

The SFPU Commissioner rubber-stamps and will not speak Truth to power. They bow down to folks like Dennis Herrera, who will soon retire — good riddance to bad rubbish.

Steve Richie and the Deputy General Manager, Ronald Flynn, could have done better; they failed and put the innocent in harm's way.

SFPUC has no standards for upper management. 

Micromanaging is not the way to do business; constantly spying on one another and reporting nonsense to upper management.

Audit after audit by the SF Controller's Office has revealed that SFPUC lacks the ability to set standards, and that millions of dollars, all of taxpayers' money, are wasted, all while the shameless managers at SFPUC feel they can do as they please.

We now have an SF Inspector General who falls under the auspices of the SF Controller. We met the SF General Inspector in April, 2025 and have yet to receive any adjudication regarding three SFPUC workers who were fired without cause.

We formed a team and met to do our own investigation and found the SFPUC lacking basic operational ability in the sordid system, and the SF Water Department, who are the worst, all the managers, corrupt to the core.

One SF Water manager is wasting his time and the time of others at work — showing porn and bringing disgrace to theCity'sy's and the County of San Francisco.

That same manager is stealing copper wire and amassing thousands of dollars illegally, was caught stealing in a store, and the SF Police Department is aware of this incident and is daily treating those who are not White with disdain.

The SF Water has chosen to build a brand-new one-million-square-foot building, and two managers are salivating, thinking they will manage it, with high hopes.

You will fall flat on your face — you who made headlines in the SF newspaper showing porn to the workers, stealing copper wire — the other one who will go out of his way to abuse fellow workers who are not White.

Let me tell you — we have facts, empirical data, videos, photographs, and what have you — shame on the many higher-level managers who are corrupt and allowing this cancer to surge throughout the SFPUC at every level, especially at the highest levels.

As Director of Environmental Justice Advocacy, I led a team of experts; we met for 9 months and researched more than 25 areas that the SF Water Department failed to implement.

A judge will deal with the facts that our team has: empirical data, photographs of the Reservoir, sludge buildup of two or three feet, and other contaminants that we will reveal at the appropriate time.

The three SFPUC workers will be present and state the facts; they will also reveal the retaliation and other atrocities committed, and we have witnesses, so that the Judge can adjudicate with fair play and justice.

https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/51038?view_id=22&meta_id=1189832&redirect=true

SAN FRANCISCO'S RESERVOIRS ARE CONTAMINATED - SUFFERING FROM DEFERRED MAINTAINCE - SFPUC HAS FAILED US ON ALL FRONTS WASTING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS - DENNIS HERRERA HAS JUMPED SHIP - THE SF PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION - RUBBER STAMPING.

 

San Francisco and contaminated drinking water.

www.OSHA.gov

OSHA has reached a decision in an adjudication: the three employees who were fired did not do anything wrong. The lead employee brought to the attention of William Taehan and Frank Jordon, their managers, that standards were not in place and that they were put in harm's way.

OSHA sound investigation led to the following standards that were not in place:

  1. No pre-entry assessment.

  2. No confined training and rescue.

  3. Do not test the air inside prior to entry.

  4. No stand-by person.

  5. No radio communication.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission must be ashamed of itself.

The managers linked to the San Francisco Water Department are the most corrupt, and each of them will fall flat on their faces and more. 

William Taehan, Frank Jordon, Steve Richie, Joy Chen, may think they have it good; in the years to come, each of you who has harmed hundreds of innocent SFPUC employees will face a reckoning you have never, ever seen before.

This case has all the empirical data and facts - the SFPUC managers thought they were dealing with employees who had no connection and support - looking at the case at first - and the many atrocities was mind boggling and convoluded - I had to pray hard and assemble a team to study the fact and come out with a strategy that would bring succor to the three employees - Joe King, Conrad King, and Adolfo Padilla.

Reviewing the facts of this case, retaliation was clear-cut: the employees did nothing wrong, and the managers, intentionally, put them in harm's way.

Dennis Herrera, the General Manager, is retiring. Good riddance to very bad rubbish. The man went behind closed doors and increased his salary from $500,000 to $ 619,288.

Ronald Flynn, his deputy, receives a salary of $472,680.

These two men are not engineers - they are lawyers.

Ronald Flynn knew well that the policies he created for the "Confined Space" project were lacking and should be brought to book. 

The Laborers Union 261 was quick to gather the dues of the three employees, but failed to provide them with help as they ought to, mandating that employees must go to the Union Lawyers, which is a JOKE

Help was denied to the employees by Union 261, and the Union must be ashamed; those in charge of this stupidity must be fired.

In the interim, the many reservoirs all over San Francisco have not been maintained, and, as we speak, the Sunset Reservoir, the University Mound Reservoir, the Reservoir at Hunters Point, and the Reservoir at Lombard Street, the other too, have been contaminated, deferred maintenance, and no records kept.

OSHA has done the investigative reporting, and our team has experts with over 80 years of experience. We are ready to come before any judge and reveal what we know, putting millions of innocent folks who use our SF drinking water at risk from our contaminated reservoirs.

At this time, there are three class action cases against the SF Public Utilities Commission. 

The SFPUC is mandated to have standards and follow policies, and has chosen to defy the Enforcement Agencies.

San Francisco once had some semblance—some standards, some way of doing things right. 

Today, San Francisco has gone to the hogs—on all fronts: the SF Board of Supervisors, dealing with mundane things, the laughingstock of the entire Bay Area.

How many times must we expose the SF Public Utilities Commission to standards?

 Our reservoirs are contaminated. 

In any other City's elsewhere in the United States, an emergency would be declared. 

You can inform the City and County of San Francisco Health Department, but no one gives a damn.

Try informing the Environmental Protection Agency — the response goes nowhere.

Try informing the SF Board of Supervisors—dumb as they come—none of them are educated on the issues; chronologically speaking, they have no concrete history of San Francisco.

We all know our reservoirs and other clean drinking water assets are vulnerable to hacking—the current system is primitive—and that they will be targeted sooner rather than later.

The reservoirs we have in San Francisco are not maintained as they should be — deferred maintenance is one ploy, allowing the crooks to avoid spending the money to clean them, delaying repairs, and spending it on other things.

The reservoirs were built over a hundred years ago to preserve the clean water brought all the way from Hetch Hetch, using gravity and huge pipes to deliver it south of San Francisco, where it lands at Crystal Springs.

From there, the water was piped to University Mound, Hunters Point, Potrero Hill, and Sunset by Lombard Street—on top of the Reservoir, folks enjoy playing tennis. The Reservoir was graded some years ago; there is an unsecured door leading to the Reservoir. Folks go there and use the water for various purposes.

It is a shame when you bring something as important as certification and standards to the attention of those who should listen—upper management— and they do not give a damn. 

Open defiance —dereliction of duty —one can bring an emergency to the attention of management, and they do not give a damn. All this must stop, and those in management—all fired.

Again and again, the SFPUC is defying the employees and some of us who speak to the situation at Public Comment—at the SF Public Utilities Commission meetings—while the Main Media are fast asleep in the cockpit.

Right now, laborers are receiving "Confined Space" training after the fact.

It must be noted that Joe King and Adolfo Padilla did the right thing, and the SF Water Department—the managers— did the wrong thing. The corrupt managers still think they can do what they want. 

These managers must be fired, and the time is now — foremost Steve Richie, William Taehan, Frank Jordon, and Joy Chen, who works in HR.

The City's's and County of San Francisco pretend they can provide information when a taxpayer uses the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); in reality, we are dealing with a buffoon.

We conducted our own investigation and found that the five reservoirs in San Francisco were not cleaned to standard; this was once done by the plumbers, who refused to continue the "Confined Space" work because they were not paid according to the standards —they were not certified to do the hazardous work, which the SF OSHA is looking into and will indict the managers and SF Water Department.

The City and County of San Francisco —moreover, the SF City Attorney's office has participated in blatant retaliation — aided and abetted by Steve Richie, Dennis Herrera, Ron Flin, Joy Chen, and a host of other good-for-nothing, very corrupt individuals.

The SF Water Department - William Taehan, Frank Jordon, Steve Richie, the current Deputy Manager Ron Flin - the General Manager who is on extended vacation and will retire in December are all lying - have no records that should be in place - lie and the the FOIA reporting to questions - borders on nothing that is true - there are NO documents - so how can anyone speak Truth to power/

We have the empirical data — we know all the plots and shenanigans that were used to retaliate against Joe King and Adolfo Paddila — we have experts on our team who can address every act of retaliation, and we will see that justice rules supreme. 

The SFPUC Water Department stinks to high heaven.

This SFPUC water department has been audited and found to be below standard. The managers are watching porno while at work, stealing copper wire and selling the copper for thousands of dollars with accounts at Recycling Centers — stealing stuff from stores, and the SF Police Department knows about this — ordering spare parts and selling them — and the list goes on. 

These jerks think they are privileged and that we will tolerate their utter nonsense — we will not.

Joe King, Conrad King, and Adolfo Padilla were never written up before — Adolfo Padilla was commended as the "Employee of the Year" — Joe King took workshops on his own — and led the various teams and maintained standards.

In the recent month the SFPUC has kept canceling the SF Public Utilities Commission meetings — we see people leaving —jumping ship— the managers thought they could harm innocent employees — treat them with disdain — well, your days are numbered — you all will fall on your face, as I predicted at the many SF Public Utilities Meetings I attend, and remind you gadflies sitting on the wall.

The SFPUC is an enterprise department and charges a lot for clean drinking water, which is pumped to homes—contaminated. Often, the water from our taps stinks.

When the matter is reported to the SF Water Department, no one wants to tell the Truth. No one wants to fix the problem.

Every Reservoir in San Francisco has large amounts of sludge that have been accumulating for years; no cleanup has been done. The water is treated with hydrochloric acid, but that does not keep the water clean. Then the sludge is not removed, and the reservoirs are not sanitized

The SF Control has audited the SFPUC many times and brought some necessary charges to their attention — the SFPUC looks the other way — and keeps defying the taxpayers and those who tell them what to do, hoping to serve decent, hardworking citizens. You pay large amounts for the sewer and so-called clean drinking water.

The SF Board of Supervisors has no clue what is happening—most of them are there to receive bribes, and many of them have been fined, the present ones and those who have termed out.

The SF Board of Supervisors does not understand what quality of Life is—they themselves are not mannerly; they talk from both sides of their mouth. Can you imagine that over one million people can be exposed to contaminated drinking water?

The EPA must step up - and the Federal Bureau of Investigation can step up too - charge SFPUC with the RICO - a lot of looting is going on - copper stolen and sold, other dubious activites sell water that has not been treated - the SFPUC Water Department - is corrupt and needs to be investigated - rampant nepotism and abject corruption prevails - and innocent workers fired - and all this must be investigated.

Recently, I sent a Freedom of Information Act request—it took the SFPUC two months to respond. The answers were bland - and many of them half-truths. We will provide all this and more before a judge and would like to see SFPUC on the stand — reveal the Truth.

San Francisco has always stood for standards—the SF Board of Supervisors has no clue what is happening—except to pass resolutions and give Commendations that are not worth the salt.

Our Reservoirs, the Sunset, the one at Potrero Hill, the one at Hunter Point, the one at Lombard Street, the one at University Mound — all experience deferred maintenance — enough is enough.

The plumbers are supposed to work on " Confined Spaces," not the laborers — who are at this late date — given some training, but not the 40 hours of training that is needed to be certified and to do work in " Confined Spaces. "

These idiots — keep sending a list to me - that has former workers who have retired, one who was shot and killed at Ocean Beach, others who left the SF Water Department a long time ago - ten years — the ones who have sent this list to me thinks that I have no access to experts and have been following these jackasses, the likes of William Taehan and Frank Jordon, for many years.

The folks think they can fool us — and this nonsense must STOP.

As I have been saying, it's time to address the nonsense—the RICO Act must be used—to get to the bottom of stealing, lying, retaliation, abuse, cheating, and managers abusing employees.

Dennis Herrera has jumped ship.

www.osha.gov

The SF Water Department in San Francisco is in a mess—folks like Steve Richie, William Taehan, Frank Jordon, Joy Chen from HR, Dennis Herrera, Ron Flin, and his minions—have been wasting millions of dollars.

One has to go to the SF Controller's website—audit after audit exposing waste of money, no standards, and, what is important to note, open defiance—giving a damn to the taxpayers and decent San Franciscans.

San Francisco demand: "Quality of Life Standards." The Mayor is a Joke.

The President of the SF Board of Supervisors cannot make a sound needs assessment; all he does is pander to the other Board of Supervisors. Many of them cannot speak the English language and are busy reading "Resolutions that go nowhere.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission started with a $6 billion budget for the Sewer System Improvement Project (SSIP) — and spent more of it in record time.

We bring the stolen water from Hetch Hetchy to San Francisco — a distance of about 122 miles — and then, to this day, waste clean drinking water by flushing our toilets.

SFPUC has no clue how to fix its assets when it comes to hacking—yet it has a consultant to improve its energy source from stacks. Stacks are not clean, contrary to the claim that we in San Francisco provide clean energy. These jokers never cease to amaze me—idiots.

SFPUC could have done better with " solar sites" a long time ago, but failed to do so. LAFCO and some of us tried to educate SFPUC, to no avail. SFPUC is looking for energy in all the wrong places.

Ask them about Qutum technology, and they have no clue what one is talking about — attend some of their meetings —linked to their assets —they are still decades behind — nd are good at abusing taxpayers' money — the SFPUC, when it comes to providing " quality of Life " issues, is drowning in a cesspool.

Audit after audit by the SF Controller exposes how pathetic SFPUC is—time will tell.

Dennis Herrera is retiring in December, but he is currently on an extended vacation that began a month ago. 

Dennis Herrera has managed to convince the Mayor of San Francisco and his corrupt connections, and will now earn $600,000, up from his previous salary of $500,000. What do you call this — if not corruption of the worst order?

In the interim, the workers who were put in harm's way—and reported several infringements—were fired and penalized, including being deprived of a decent salary.

OSHA has opened the case and is addressing the slow response from the SF Water Department—lying, cheating, and forging documents—in short, displaying open defiance.

The SF Public Utilities Commission has canceled yet another meeting— its SFPUC meeting. Why?

There is something happening—behind the scenes—and we know some of it, but we will wait for the right moment for the fireworks.

The salmon are dwindling.

SF Reservoirs are contaminated.

It spent money taking on the Clean Water Act—we advocates fought for the Clean Water Act—that the City and County of San Francisco, the City's's Attorneys David Chiu and Dennis Herrera, and the General Manager of the SFPUC, who has jumped ship—and disgraced himself.

When the Supreme Court favored the City's's and County of San Francisco, the Clean Water Act was effectively neutralized, and today rivers, lakes, oceans, and watersheds are compromised—contaminated by factories, chemicals, and pollution.

SPUC took pride in being foolish!

Where all the nonsense takes place.

The City's's and County of San Francisco is surrounded by the Bay on three sides, and the Bay, as we know it today,y is contaminated - there is a surge of algae that adversely impacts the fish and other living species in the Bay;

The contamination must not be taken lightly by the decision makers — the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, 525 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco — who have no clue what to do and have failed to conduct a meaningful needs assessment.

It is the same with the salmon that have dwindled from millions to hundreds.

The SFPUC does not give a rat's ass about the Tuolumne River and the other rivers by Hetch Hetchy. 

The SFPUC listens to consultants who are there to amass wealth and kick the can down the street.

The SFPUC does not pay attention to Public Comment—and all this, and more, will come to haunt them soon.

Richard Sklar, former General Manager of SFPUC.

Hetch Hetchy

Right now, the idiots want to choose a General Manager.

Someone who thinks that shooting arrows in the air will hit the right target — it simply does not work like that. Dennis Herrera was not an engineer. There is no way these hunters can make it happen. None has institutional experience and is educated on the issues that matter.

Chronologically speaking, these folks want the money and have been taking SFPUC for a wild ride—in the past, Dwayne Jones and the Amerson Document; Julie LaBonte and Susan Leal, with the Joint Venture linked to dubious entities that amassed over $3 billion; and Dianne Feinstein and Richard Blum. 

The present corruption at the Water Department knows no bounds —Ennis Herrera is jumping ship to save his pension. Is his annual salary half a million dollars?

Will his sidekick, Ron Flin, be thrown under the bus?

They have no clue how to choose a General Manager like Richard Sklar or Anson Moran—it is not easy—and even if they find someone, they will not agree to work for SFPUC.

 

WE ARE NO LONGER A SUPERPOWER WITH STANDARDS - WE HAVE FAILED MURDERING AND KILLING THOUSANDS IN GAZA - BOMBING SMALL BOATS IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS - AT HOME ARRESTING AMERICAN CITIZENS WITHOUT CAUSE - WHERE ARE OUR VALUES THAT AMERICA WAS KNOWN FOR?