Fiona Ma: Beginning is Half of Every Action

The SF Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is 18 months into the implementation of a system-wide Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that was authorized via a bond measure approved by voters in November 2002.

The 13-year-old program is an ambitious undertaking, but one that's grounded in years of diligent financial and strategic planning. I recently delivered the keynote address at the opening of the International Water Association's Leading Edge Asset Management Conference, addressing the importance of a well-planned Strategic Asset Management Plan.

Among other concerns, I addressed one of the most important issues confronting both our utilities and regulating agencies - the aging of our assets and the related increase in investment for replacement and maintenance. This is a critical issue as we begin upgrading the Hetch Hetchy system since we need to balance limited budgets with the promise of delivering a Capital Improvement Program so customers continue to receive the safest and highest-quality drinking water available.

The PUC's "assets" are the infrastructure of pipelines and tunnel systems, reservoirs and dams. Asset management stretches across a number of key areas, such as the sustainability of our assets for the future; risk management of the assets, including the understanding of both the probability and consequences of failure; informed decision-making so plans can be developed by taking into account the total life-cycle of our assets; and an understanding of the service levels demanded by the community and required by the environment.

A coordinated system of asset management will help us minimize the total cost of owning and operating our capital assets by providing data and a methodology for maintenance and reinvestment.

The CIP will encompass 77 regional and local projects to repair, replace and seismically upgrade the water system's aging pipelines and tunnels, reservoirs and dams, with 48 of those projects already in progress. During this process, we will also be looking to prepare the system for meeting water demands during extended periods of drought, accommodating water quality regulations that seem to be ever-changing and opening our current system to greater environmental stewardship.

This $3.6 billion CIP will be an opportunity for San Francisco to bring up to par one of the most incredible, unique water-delivery systems in the world. It will also be an unprecedented opportunity for job growth and economic development throughout the counties that the Hetch Hetchy system affects.

It is an exciting time for the PUC as it continues its tremendous work rebuilding the water system and welcomes its new general manager, former San Francisco supervisor Susan Leal.

As a San Francisco supervisor and a San Francisco representative on regional boards, I look forward to my role in this process, not only to bring a higher quality of service to our residents but also to support the ongoing creation of new opportunities and benefits for San Francisco residents and the local job market.

Supervisor Fiona Ma represents District 4. She is a member of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and represents the SFPUC on the ABAG CALFED Taskforce. CALFED's mission is to develop a long-term comprehensive plan that will restore ecological health and improve water management for beneficial uses on the bay/delta system.