Drought Resilience Water System Improvements (DWR Funded)

Total Grant Funding: $8,545,000
Project Period: 2021–2025
Status: Complete & Closed Out

This integrated program ensures a long-term, second water supply capable of sustaining the community during extended drought and emergency conditions, improves operational capacity and redundancy, and provides new fire hydrants and fireflow.

Roadside construction with excavators, cones, and workers laying blue pipes near Wards Ferry Rd.
Construction workers pouring concrete into a circular wooden formwork on a sunny day.
A yellow fire hydrant installed on rocky ground, surrounded by trees.
Construction site with an excavator, utility truck, and a green tank with solar panels.
Construction site with a trench and installed pipeline, surrounded by trees and equipment.
Two people working near a large white cylindrical tank on a dirt ground.
Construction site with dirt, wooden frames, a truck, and heavy machinery, near a large metal tank and trees.
Three construction workers in safety gear working on a concrete foundation at a construction site with machinery and trees in the background.
A construction worker in a trench, surrounded by machinery and equipment, works on a road with traffic cones nearby.
Roadside construction with excavators, cones, and workers laying blue pipes near Wards Ferry Rd.
Construction workers pouring concrete into a circular wooden formwork on a sunny day.
A yellow fire hydrant installed on rocky ground, surrounded by trees.
Construction site with an excavator, utility truck, and a green tank with solar panels.
Construction site with a trench and installed pipeline, surrounded by trees and equipment.
Two people working near a large white cylindrical tank on a dirt ground.
Construction site with dirt, wooden frames, a truck, and heavy machinery, near a large metal tank and trees.
Three construction workers in safety gear working on a concrete foundation at a construction site with machinery and trees in the background.
A construction worker in a trench, surrounded by machinery and equipment, works on a road with traffic cones nearby.

Sub-Project 1: New Groundwater Well

Additional water supply to serve the demands of Big Oak Flat in an extreme or extended drought scenario.

  • $1,373,297
  • Test Well: February 2024 - February 2025
  • Full Production Well: September 2025 - February 2026

Should the Hetch Hetchy water supply ever be reduced significantly by the state or SFPUC, this new water supply will meet the needs of Big Oak Flat.

Sub-Project 2: New Water Storage Tank, Pipeline, & Fire Hydrants

Additional water storage for when the Big Oak Flat water system is operating on the new well. The pipeline connects the new tank to the BOF system, so it can operate in addition to the Groveland part of the water system. Fire hydrants were installed along the new pipeline to improve firefighting capabilities in an area that had no fire hydrants.

  • $2,861,703
  • November 2024 - February 2026

Allows the water from the groundwater well to be stored an distributed to the Big Oak Flat system and assist with consumption demand while maintaining water storage for fire protection. The pipeline and tank were needed for the well to function as an emergency water supply. The pipeline and tank also provide adequate stored water and pressure in the Big Oak Flat system to meet current fire flow standards, thus positively affecting the community ISO rating and reducing insurance costs. In the past, when fire hydrants in Big Oak Flat were operated, some customers had reduced water pressure, and this pipeline solved that problem. Also, maintenance and emergency repairs can be performed on the system without turning off the entire community.

The image shows a large trailer labeled "Waste Water Treatment System" parked alongside equipment and a gravel area, under cloudy skies.
A smiling man stands beside an open equipment cabinet with machinery, holding a phone, in a partly cloudy outdoor setting.
The image shows a workspace with blue machinery, a person in an orange shirt, and various equipment and safety signs.
The image shows a paved area with storage containers and construction equipment, set against a cloudy sky and bare trees.
A construction site featuring vehicles, gravel piles, and trees under a clear blue sky, indicating ongoing work.
The image shows a large trailer labeled "Waste Water Treatment System" parked alongside equipment and a gravel area, under cloudy skies.
A smiling man stands beside an open equipment cabinet with machinery, holding a phone, in a partly cloudy outdoor setting.
The image shows a workspace with blue machinery, a person in an orange shirt, and various equipment and safety signs.
The image shows a paved area with storage containers and construction equipment, set against a cloudy sky and bare trees.
A construction site featuring vehicles, gravel piles, and trees under a clear blue sky, indicating ongoing work.

Sub-Project 3: Relocation & Permanent Installation of the Alternative Water Supply Water Treatment Plant

Permanent and efficiently-operating alternative water supply treatment plant to reliably serve the community’s water demand during any planned or emergency interruption to our Hetch Hetchy water supply.

  • $4,310,000
  • Pipeline: September 2025 - February 2026
  • Plant Relocation: August 2025 - February 2026

The permanent installation reduces treatment plant deployment/startup time, reduces operating costs (staff hours/overtime) and ensures the community has adequate water supply during emergencies.

Hypothetical Scenarios:

  1. Natural disaster causing an unplanned tunnel outage is announced by SFPUC and we need an alternate water source within days. Our old AWS would take up to a month to set up and operate to meet demand and water quality standards. The new installation will meet demand within a few days.
  2. A major pump failure occurs at our Big Creek water plant during high summer water demand causing the need for immediate customer water conservation before the tanks drain. The permanent AWS can be operated quickly to supplement our treated water supply until the pump is repaired.
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