South City To Replace Power Generator For $6.5 Million

South San Francisco’s generator for its Water Quality Control Plant hasn’t been replaced in 36 years, and recently stopped cranking up during power outages—thus leaving the city at risk of a sewage backup if the power was out too long.

But that will soon change, after city leaders on Wednesday voted to spend $6.5 million to replace the generator. The vote came during a regular meeting of South San Francisco City Council.

The council voted unanimously to buy a new machine and replace the building that houses the generator. They awarding a contract to various Bay Area agencies to perform the work.

Not only will the new machine prevent potential sewage backups, it will stay put and intact during an earthquake, citiy officials said.

“It sounds like a large sum, but it’s a project that’s going to extend for over a year [of construction]," Assistant Public Works Director and City Engineer Brian McMinn told the council. “This is money well spent. It makes a lot of sense.”

The existing metal building is deteriorating and not seismically stable, according to Public Works Director Terry White.

"It's a very caustic environment," White said. "There's a lot of rust, and it could shift in an earthquake."

“The existing generator is becoming more difficult to maintain,” McMinn said, at Wednesday's council meeting. “The new generators will be more efficient in their fuel usage, as well as have a more reliable system.” 

The new building will be constructed with more durable concrete blocks, have more efficient and cleaner-burning fuel, and include a standby generator that provides power during outages, said White.

Because it's composed of concrete, it also will not be as noisy as the old generator.

The current generator has failed to transfer power during outages, which has required staff to manually step in and flip switches to keep the sewage flowing.

The project should begin this summer, and take about 14 months to complete.