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Water Tunnel Beneath Bay to Protect San Francisco in Face of Quake

Posted by: Nate Berg

29 July 2009 - 11:00am

Utilities officials in the San Francisco Bay Area are hoping to secure their water resources in the face of another devastating earthquake by building a 5-mile long water tunnel beneath the Bay.

The tunnel would ensure that water resources could travel to the Bay Area from the Yosemite if another largue quake hit. Existing pipelines dates back to the 1920s.

"Only 12 companies in the world are certified to perform the job, which is estimated to cost $347 million. Digging will start next spring on the Menlo Park shoreline just south of the Dumbarton Bridge, and head eastward, with work scheduled to be completed in 2015. An additional 16 miles of pipe connecting to the tunnel on either side of the bay also will be replaced.

The job is part of a $4.5 billion renovation by the San Francisco PUC to upgrade its water system."

Full Story: Huge tunnel to be built under San Francisco Bay
Source: San Jose Mercury News, July 28, 2009
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