Some advocates take the time to address the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), which is famous for kicking the can down the street.
The SFPUC continues to defy the citizens of San Francisco by failing to meet standards. Audit after audit indicates that millions of dollars—all taxpayers' money—have been wasted.
After dismissing four sitting SFPU Commissioners, and filling the seats with three and only one remaining from the five past SFPU Commissioners, the present Chairperson, who worked for the SF City Attorney's office.
The present manager of the SFPUC and the assistant general manager also worked for the SF City Attorney's office.
Every commission has a City Attorney, and this SF City Attorney monitors the many Commission meetings with minimal guidance and correction.
Let us get to the point—none of the Commissioners paid attention to the Raker Act, which helped Congress allow the City and County of San Francisco to dam the Hetch Hetchy dam, which adversely impacted the Tuolumne River and brought about the demise of the Salmon that flourisSalmon the Tuolumne River for thousands of years.
Over the years, Hetch Hetchy water—some of the most pristine water on Earth—stored between substantial granite rocks has been allocated to filthy computer companies for cooling operations, manufacturing chips, and other products.
Water has been allocated to various institutions and entities that were never envisioned, with a thorough needs assessment and a single purpose: to generate vast amounts of money.
Over the years, residents in San Francisco have been conserving and saving clean drinking water. The SFPU Commission has been charging more, and recently, an audit revealed that the charges are way more than they should be. The SFPUC has yet to return the ratepayers' funds to them.
Over the years, there has been no meaningful dialogue with the Indigenous tribes living in and around the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir - Yosemite - linked to cultural issues - and, most importantly, the demise of millions of Salmon - now practically extinct.
On the Westside of San Francisco, a $100 million taping of water from the Watershed lies stagnant. The Watershed was to tap the water and add it to the clean water we receive from Hetch Hetchy, regardless of whether this water from the Watershed is foul or not.
Never mind—the citizens of San Francisco are not given detailed facts, and Juliet Ellis and other lackeys are nowhere to be found.
The problems lie with PG&E. The SFPUC jumped ahead with plans that were not vetted, and permits from Pacific Gas and Electric have stalled for years.
The SFPUC is known for not doing its work and assuming it understands its energy needs. Not so this time - and you will see in the future, too.
If a significant fire surge happens in the Sunset, also known as the Avenues, all hell will break loose.
I told the SFPU Commissioner that as long as they pander to the rich and sell the clean drinking water from Hetch Hetchy for cooling and other such operations, they are not fulfilling the obligations linked to the Raker Act; the uncalled action will come to bite the SFPU Commissioners in the butt.
Who are these Commissioners?
Why are they pussyfooting at the SFPU Commission?
When will they realize that the laymen and women are far more knowledgeable than these folks who are there, much like a gadfly on the wall?
THE RACKETEER ACT
https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/hetch-hetchy/hr7207.html
Judging from the deliberations at the numerous SFPUC meetings, the blatant statements were false, and there was a lack of transparency and accountability.
The present SFPU Commission is unaware of the Raker Act or the mission of the SF Public Utilities Commission.
We are in 2025, yet the SFPUC continues to flush clean drinking water from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir into millions of toilets. They do not seem to care about this atrocity.
For thousands of years, the indigenous tribes in and around the confluence where the sacred river waters meet have respected and honored the river. As a token, the Indigenous share the water—any Elder and one they respect gets this water, and those who receive it feel how deeply the Indigenous care for the river, the water, and the Salmon.
Those who are Salmony - will never understand how deep the insult is - flushing millions of gallons of Sacred Water - down the commodes and thinking nothing much - typical of the Greedy - the Elders told us - "do not trust those that speak with a forked tongue."
We repeatedly see the SFPUC waste our time at the many SFPU Commission meetings held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.
When we speak truth to power, they do not feel any shame and continue their drab conversation. They deprive the taxpayers of standard services and charge them an arm and a leg for sewer, clean drinking water, and electricity charges.
https://sfpublicworks.org/projects
Take some time to study the many projects undertaken by the Department of Public Works and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
I have been monitoring the project for many years. s—I have been with Flickr since 20re.
The photographs create a lovely collage and give us a sense of what is happening in our once-great City and County of San Francisco.
This project, which aims to tap into the Watershed and add Watershed Sunset, aka Avenues, has been stalled for years. It is a large-scale project with a budget exceeding $100 million.
PG&E has been stalling on permits, causing untold hardships to decent, hardworking citizens. However, a conflict exists between SFPUC and PG&E, despite the two entities being intended to work as a team.
In San Francisco, when it comes to the many hydrants—some are painted black at the top of the hydrants, others painted blue at the top of the hydrants, and others red in color—we see them, but we know little about these hydrants.
When one digs deeper, we cannot find documents linked to the Hydrants - when were they tested, what were the results, do they have the necessary pressure, if there is a large, surging fire, and other questions that the SFPUC refuses to answer.
Then we have the Cistern - some 200 of them - large wells that can hold as much as 75,000 gallons - we know little how many have been upgraded - if large generators can aid in the pumping of water - if water can be transported by large trucks with tanks - to areas that are difficult to rich - and where the hydrants - lack sound pressure.
In the past, we have experienced communication issues. The City and County of San Francisco have their own Emergency Management, which is not up to par. We've. We've seen them fail before, and we can't wait for a large fire, and the Emergency Management Office.
We need several state-of-the-art generators, which we currently lack. We have no sound blueprint in place that the SF Fire Department, the SF Police Department, the National Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the San Francisco Emergency Management have tested and vetted.
San Francisco does not have a helicopter, so we need several due to the terrain, the numerous hills, and the strong winds we occasionally receive.
In recent years, flex pipes—made in Japan—have helped bring water directly and safely to places like the San Francisco General Hospital.
We must prioritize, without delay, and stop making excuses, to have ready and on-the-go operations and assets to deal with a large fire in San Francisco.
As I have mentioned before, in 1989, I was alive and saw what really happened and how unprepared San Francisco was. Nothing much has changed regarding the art sets needed to stop and fight a large fire.
The SF Fire Department must demand that the essential assets be provided. Having them helps us and others when the need arises.
We need more transparency and accountability regarding the occurrence of large fires, and the safety of Francisco's citizens must be a priority. San Francisco is prone to liquefaction, earthquakes, and numerous natural gas lines that can give way and start large fires. There is more—the experts can sing the blues.
The SFPUC could post a map on its website showing the significant areas in San Francisco that are prone to severe liquefaction and other adverse factors.
Not long ago, the San Francisco Legislative Budget Aide released a report revealing that several audits—linked to significant projects—were conducted without transparency or accountability.
Middle management and some SFPUC employees lack training and expertise in how the projects are managed.
Countless change orders - all of which reveal that the entire SFPUC system lacks standards.
This system of bidding low to secure a contract and then making change orders must be stopped. For too long, this method of low bidding has fostered the worst type of corruption, and part of that is the bribes those in charge receive—pay-to-play.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Center, which I designed to handle Career Jobs, was scheduled for contractors to arrive at the eleventh hour to review the blueprints and read the hard copies linked to the numerous contracts.
The Contracting Center was closed throughout the COVID pandemic. It opened after a two-year closure, and some of us who used the Center were left in the dark.
For the last two years, some of us Elders, determined to help the community, have volunteered and gathered at the Contracting Center to understand chronologically what has become of our community. We meet from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm on Tuesdays. Reserve the co11 amnce from 2 pm to 5 pm for three months.
Over the last two years, from 2022 to 2024, we have witnessed the SFPU Center being underutilized, despite our good work. We have our Wednesday booked—to entities that book it on the other days—but someone tries to put hurdles in our way.
Some of us attend the SFPU Commission and give our input during public comment—two measly minutes are given—and we try to do our best.
As much as we ask for a presentation on the number of miles of clean water and sewer pipes that have been replaced, we, the people, are not listened to and left in the dark.
At least when Harlan Kelly was there, we could speak with him personally, and he provided us with access to information.
We now a Cabal - who do as they wish - and give a damn to the concerns of those who speak up - and think they know it all - making promises and not keeping them - kicking the can down the street.
The Contract Center should be available every Wednesday from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm. We use it on a limited basis from 11 am to 2 pm, which is rare.
We, the P4 PM, would like to get a presentation on the Task Force document created to address Community Benefits. The Task Force was dismissed, and its contents were kept secret.
Even today, little information is available to us who ask for pertinent and relevant information.
Soon, some information will be released about Dwayne Jones, who wasted millions of dollars of taxpayers' money. We still have some who cooperated with Dwayne Jones—one or two testified in court—but the fact remains that these individuals, who are still employed by the SFPUC, are complicit.
The fact remains that Juliet Ellis, Julie LaBonte, Susan Leal, AECOM, and the Joint Venture ploys still need to be investigated.
The EMERSON document, which I have mentioned several times, reveals all the ploys, machinations, and shenanigans.
The SF Controller must hand over the EMERSON document to the recently created Inspector General's Office and ask who has the money in the Milbroug of the Toit ook.
Stop trying to fool us - pulling the wool over our eyes - thinking that we are not aware of the deep corruption - that fosters right to this day. Taxpayers' money must be accounted for - and it is not.
The SFPUC has failed to secure large contracts, primarily linked to the Sewer System Improvement Project (SSIP).
The Sewer System Improvement Project, which began with a budget of $6 billion in 2010, has now increased to $12 billion and is projected to reach $20 billion, yet no one who is anyone seems to care.
The SF Controller has often stated that every audit on a large SFPUC project reveals blatant mistakes and adds to the corruption of the worst order.
Two individuals have been indicted: Harlan Kelly and Dwayne Jones.
Paradoxically, those who provide empirical data revealing the SFPUC's misdeeds are ignored.
If the FBI had not followed the money, the SFPUC would have drowned in a cesspool of its own creation.
Dennis Herrera, the last SF City Attorney, was appointed to fill the seat created by the firing of Harlan Kelly, the former Manager of SFPUC, by the former Mayor London Breed, the fox guarding the chicken coop.
The corruption in San Francisco has reached a saturation point, and most of it continues, although many attorneys fail to maintain standards in San Francisco and San Mateo County.
We will have an Inspector General for the first time this year, and time will tell.
The City and County of San Francisco have appropriated millions of dollars to upgrade our clean water pipes. Many of the old pipes are 95 years old.
The plan was to report to the public - a presentation given - the last one was given to us five years ago by Karen Kubick.
It is the same with thousands of miles of sewer pipes—95 years or older—that need replacing. The money is there, appropriated, but it is being used for other purposes.
We have yet to see a presentation that promises to be shown twice a year.
This gives us a sense of the connections between replacing the clean water and sewer pipes, hydrants, and giant water tanks to aid firefighting, as well as the 2,200-plus cisterns in San Francisco, each carrying 75,000 gallons, providing access to our firefighters.
If we request documentation, such as when the cisterns were last checked, when their contents were last checked, and whether any tests were performed, we will not receive any information.
Those who know some are told not to speak and to keep the information secret.
We, the people, need to know how many of these assets have been upgraded—and how many times they have been tested.
An entire block on Thomas Street in the Bayview burned some years ago. The hydrants had low pressure and were unable to extinguish the fire, as was the University Mound Reservoir, a few miles away.
However, it is only when the hydrants are tested that we can determine whether they produce the necessary pressure.
Only engineers can help us understand more; the present General Manager is an attorney, and his deputy came with him from the San Francisco City Attorney's office.
The SF Department of Public Works has received work orders to repair pipes and hydrants and upgrade cisterns in the past.
Since 2020, SF Public Utilities has been undertaking work, including taking inventory, monitoring, and maintaining assets, and ensuring that tests are conducted and everything functions properly.
This has not happened; we need to review the documents to confirm if it has.
Climate change is here. In Northern California, closer to Yosemite National Park and Hetch Hetchy, we have had big fires—the Paradise Fire is one of them.
The SFPU Commissioners and those in charge are nonchalant and do not accept suggestions.
They think they know it all.
Wait until we have a fire here in San Francisco—more on the west side, known as the Avenues.
Homes will burn and topple down. They are mostly poorly built wooden frame homes, most with no sound foundation and built on sand.
All it takes is an earthquake to ignite large fires from broken natural gas pipes or humid conditions, hot weather, and strong winds that favor a large fire and rapid surge, covering thousands of acres.
I was there when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred. A five-story building in the Marina District prone to liquefaction became two stories, and fires burned many homes.
The hydrants did not work, so a Fireboat was used to pump water from the Bay and aid the firefighters.
The City and County of San Francisco were caught off guard - they did not have an Emergency Office or teams to address the situation.
Today, our SF Fire Stations upgraded their assets. However, we are not fully prepared for a massive fire and must not wait until the eleventh hour.
We need to hold presentations and conventions from time to time to share with the citizens of San Francisco what works in place and how our assets will be deployed.
Additionally, we need to know how our taxpayers' money is spent and what measures are taken to inform and sustain some of the training, which educates citizens on how to deal with situations and help and uplift one another.
During Fleet Week, we heard about some of this training with our SF Emergency Officer, the SF Firefighter, and other law enforcement officers. However, climate change requires more to address the many emergencies.
Finally, we need to stop the fireworks near residential buildings.
It is ridiculous to see fireworks right in the middle of a residential area, and SF Law Enforcement is not speaking up and doing their job.
An ordinance stating that fireworks will not be tolerated near any residential, commercial, school, church, or other institution must be passed. The Ordinance should include hefty fines to set the tone and put those who choose to use fireworks on notice.
Those who like to see and enjoy fireworks can go to locations where legal fireworks are permitted, monitor them, and enjoy themselves—safety comes first.
