Mission District Neighborhood Braces For Possible Sewer Overflow
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The continuing rain through the holiday has some residents in a San Francisco neighborhood that has proven prone to flooding concerned.
The area of 17th and Folsom in San Francisco's Mission District has been hit hard before. Now with showers predicted almost every day this week, people living and working near that intersection are preparing for the worst.
"It used to be, a [navigable] waterway, explained Jean Walsh of the SF Public Utilities Commission. Back in the day, before development, that was the center of a marshland."
Which is why it's also the center of city sandbags. Virtually every doorway on some blocks near this area have sandbags already in place. 2,000 bags were delivered by the Public Utilities Commission.
While some business owners appreciate the move, they would prefer a permanent fix.
"The pipes here are too small to handle that amount of water when the pipes coming down hill are full," said area auto repair shop owner Hans Art.
It's been the same story since 1986. When a big downpour hits Twin Peaks -- the highest point in the city -- the water flows right under his door. And sewer pipes aren't big enough to handle it.
"It's not technically a flood. It's a sewer overflow. It's a sewer backup. That's what it is," said Art.
And that's why a number of locations in the area get flooded with raw sewage periodically when storms pass through, as it did at the Stable Cafe down the street in 2012.
And there is no promise it might not happen again if there's a downpour directed on Twin Peaks, even just for 15 minutes or so.
"No system can handle all storms of all magnitude. So we design our system to a certain standard and when it gets above that there's nothing we can do," said Walsh.
The City told KPIX on Monday that they hope a temporary fix using water-filled flood barriers similar to those seen at construction sites.
"We're going to line the streets with them for a few blocks and we're testing them out to see if it helps, said Walsh. We're thinking out of the box. Trying to help with the rainy season for the folks down there."
A more permanent fix is a proposed $200 million dollar overhaul of the sewer pipes in the area. However, that improvement to infrastructure isn't likely to happen soon.
"Mostly it's about finding the money. And it won't be done until 2022, 2024," said Walsh.