27 Apr Media Success for Harry Tracy

Water and wastewater infrastructure is crumbling in this country, and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is committed to doing something about it. For over 10 years, the SFPUC has been investing in the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System through the $4.8 billion Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) in order to ensure a reliable, high-quality water supply, particularly following a major earthquake or during a drought. We work on-site at the SFPUC to ensure successful and streamlined communications for this program.

Another one of the 83 WSIP projects achieved substantial completion this month. The Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant in San Bruno, California, built in 1972, was desperately in need of upgrades including seismic improvements. In the initial planning phase, it was found that the plant sits directly on top of traces of the Serra Earthquake Fault, which substantially grew the project in price and scope from its original design in order to ensure seismic security. The final $278 million project, taking the Fault into account, will be able to provide 140 million gallons of water a day, for 60 days, within 24 hours of a major earthquake. In addition, the new treated water reservoir can survive a 7.9 magnitude earthquake. The reservoir may be one of the few buildings standing after an earthquake of that magnitude.

To commemorate this achievement, our Bay Area team planned a media event. We are a well-oiled machine when it comes to planning and executing large, cost-effective events. From logistics to speakers to media, the day went off without a hitch and the SFPUC was thrilled.

With a deep understanding and relationship with the media in the Bay Area, we ensured a stellar media presence with TV, radio, print and digital spots as well as a substantial social media presence—impressive, given the relatively mundane topic (to those outside the industry of course!).

We were pleased to help honor the hard work of the people who contributed to this project—they are clearly very proud of their work, and it is a wonderful feeling to bring well-deserved attention to their achievement.