City Blog

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 currently 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 will play a part in 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 8th - Thursday October 9th | Main Street (in SF)

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!

The Brisbane Firefighters, who returned to town this past Sunday after spending three nights in Daly City, will need to return to Station 93 in Daly City (10 Wembley Dr., Daly City) during the evening hours for the time being.  A trailer, located beside the Fire Station on Bayshore Blvd., was originally intended to be used for staging purposes and thus did not contain sleeping quarters, a shower, kitchen, or have proper outdoor lighting.  Additionally, the Brisbane fire engine needed to be parked outdoors at night due to there being mold detected in the bay/garage area of the fire station.  Earlier this morning, fire administration and city management decided that in the interest of the firefighters' safety, the best solution at this point in time was to relocate the firefighters back to Daly City during the evenings, but have them be in Brisbane during the day.  In Daly City, the firefighters will have gotten the rest they need, have ready access to the fire engine and their gear, and be able to shower and cook while concurrently, a longer-term solution is worked upon and investigated.  We will update the community when any other additional information becomes available.  Thank you for your understanding and patience regarding this matter.