4:01 PM: Some residents of San Francisco’s Mission District had a more than just a damp start to this rainy Thursday: They awoke to find their homes and businesses flooded with a mix of rainwater and sewage.
Firefighters responded to a sewage overflow at 4 a.m. in the 2100 block of Folsom Street, near 17th Street, where the heavy overnight rains had overwhelmed the underground system that carries a combination of sewage and stormwater.
Neighbor Michael Patterson said he saw the “huge sewage spill” when he walked out of his home this morning.
“More than anything, I noticed a lot of debris on the sidewalks,” he said.
Patterson lives on the east side of the block and said that the west side of the street tends to flood first during heavy rains. The flooding reached his side of the street this time.
“It crept up to the building,” he said. “About two years ago, we had almost the same issue. The water crept into our garden, so it was a little worse that time.”
According to a historical topographic map of the city from the 1890s, the low-lying block is a site that was once marshland surrounding a nearby creek.
As the sewers became filled to capacity, their contents–mostly stormwater with some sewage mixed in–spilled out into the street and flowed toward the lowest points, including homes with below-grade garages, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission spokesman Tyrone Jue said.
Rather than wait for a complete investigation into what caused the backup, the SFPUC authorized a contractor to begin cleanup of the affected homes and businesses, Jue said.
“As an agency, we don’t go around pointing fingers because we’re looking at it from the customer’s point of view,” he said. “We want them to be able to get back to their normal daily lives. If we waited for the investigation to shake out, that’s too much time.”
Jue confirmed that the neighborhood has flooded in the past and that the city has taken interim steps to improve drainage in the area.
In 2008, the city installed a new 36-inch sewer line on that block of 21st Street, a new 60-inch sewer line on 18th Street and a new pump station at the intersection of 18th and Shotwell streets, as well as landscaping that would reduce the amount of runoff flowing into the drains.
“Even though we made all of these improvements, a heavy storm can overwhelm even the best-designed sewer,” Jue said.
The city has plans to make a multi-million-dollar “systematic fix” at the location in coming years that will attempt “to divert or slow down water runoff in upstream areas,” Jue said.
With more rain on the way, the SFPUC is dropping off sandbags to those in the neighborhood.
Patricia Decker, Bay City News
12:35 PM: San Francisco firefighters this morning responded to a sewage overflow in the city’s Mission District, a fire captain said.
The overflow was reported at 4 a.m. in the 2100 block of Folsom Street, near 17th Street, and fire Capt. Jeanne Seyler said the department coordinated with the city’s Department of Public Works.
Seyler said DPW was responsible for the cleanup and arrived at the scene sometime around 7 a.m.
“They were going to make the determination if they were going to do anything,” Seyler said.
DPW spokeswoman Gloria Chan said the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is usually in charge of wastewater and of the sewage system. However, a PUC representative could not say whether crews responded to the block this morning.
Neighbor Michael Patterson said he saw the “huge sewage spill” when he walked out of his home this morning.
“More than anything, I noticed a lot of debris on the sidewalks,” he said.
Patterson lives on the east side of the block and said that the west side of the street tends to flood first during heavy rains. The flooding reached his side of the street this time.
“It crept up to the building,” he said. “About two years ago, we had almost the same issue. The water crept into our garden, so it was a little worse that time.”
According to a historical topographic map of the city from the 1890s, the low-lying block is a site that was once marshland surrounding a nearby creek.
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