Utilizing Technology in Our Water System

If you were out yesterday in Crocker Industrial Park, passing through North Hill to be exact, you may have noticed some guys in orange safety vests and some with hard hats looking down into a 12' x 6' hole they had dug on the lawn.  They - Redwood Engineering and a couple staff from the Brisbane Public Works Dept. - were assessing the location of the existing facilities (i.e. gas, water) below ground.  They were doing this to see where a future flow control vault station could fit at the water supply turnout location (there are 5 total, in and around Brisbane).  The purpose for installing these flow control vault stations is simply so that the City has better control over the water it receives from San Francisco Public Utility Commission (SFPUC).

Wondering how technology is a part of all this?  Well currently, the City cannot monitor in real-time the flow of water as it comes through SFPUC's meter valves.  After the project is completed, City engineers will be able to do this through the SCADA, or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, computer at City Hall.  Inside the vault stations, new valves and pipes will also be installed.  Valves are necessary components of any water system, and these will be specially fitted with sensors which are able to respond to changes in water pressure or flow by opening or closing the valve.

So there you have it.  Technology's playing a part by the SCADA computer being able to "talk" to the valves from a remote location (City Hall), by closing and opening them, and the valves will be able to "talk back" to the SCADA computer by passing along data which the engineers at City Hall will use to closely monitor water quality, flow, and pressure.

There will be 4 more site investigations taking place today, next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to see where the existing facilities are located.  See below for the schedule and the approximate locations of where they'll be digging:

• Thursday September 30th - Friday October 1st | 100 San Francisco Ave.
• Monday October 4th - Tuesday October 5th | 11 San Bruno Ave. @ San Francisco Ave.
• Tuesday October 5th - Wednesday October 6th | 1150 San Bruno Ave. @ Bayshore Blvd.
• Wednesday October 6th - Thursday October 7th | Main Street

For the work taking place next Monday - Wednesday on both ends of San Bruno Ave. (at Bayshore and San Francisco), there will be traffic cones placed along the shoulder where they will be conducting site investigation work.  Additionally, two flagmen will be present at the intersection of Bayshore and San Bruno to help direct traffic.  Please exercise caution when driving through any of the above site investigation locations.  And, once again, thank you for your patience as work on this very important project commences!