One concept for the Sunset Greenway plan would install new landscaping to capture rainwater in several areas along the green strips parallel to Sunset Boulevard. Screenshot via SFPUC website.
By Jennie Butler
During wet days of the approaching winter and spring, rainwater will flow along the slopes of Sunset Boulevard with no place to go. While some of the water is absorbed by the green spaces that span all the way from Lincoln Way to Sloat Boulevard, most of the rainwater flows into the drains at the end of each block.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission plans to change this through a new green infrastructure project: the Sunset Boulevard Greenway. The project aims to create alternative harbors for rainwater, to prevent it from entering the sewer system. These “rain gardens” will be placed throughout Sunset Boulevard’s east and west landscaped borders, and will absorb runoff that would otherwise overwhelm the City sewer system.
San Francisco’s sewer system, which combines both sewage and rainwater, processes more than 80 million gallons of water per day. On rainy days, this number can reach 575 million gallons, according to the SFPUC. Excess water flow could overpower the the City’s sewage capacity, causing floods in low-elevation areas and potentially causing partly treated water to be released into the water of Ocean Beach.
This system is particularly hazardous for San Francisco as the city’s urban landscape prevents most of the rainwater from being absorbed and filtered through the earth’s natural water cycle.
The Sunset Boulevard Greenway’s rain gardens will alleviate the flow of water into the sewer by capturing and absorbing an estimated 10 million gallons of runoff per year, according to the SFPUC, which has advertised the project on the Ocean Beach Bulletin. The project will also prevent 5 million gallons of combined sewer discharges from entering the Pacific Ocean along Ocean Beach every year.
The SFPUC either will install rain gardens at the low end of slopes where water naturally collects during rainfall, or they will place several throughout each block. Both options are equal in cost and environmental benefits, and the SFPUC will let the community choose the option they prefer.
The Sunset Boulevard Greenway is one of eight sewer-system improvement projects in the works in San Francisco. All are part of the SFPUC’s plan to move the City out of its outdated and inefficient “gray” infrastructure of pipes and gutters directing water, and into the innovative and earth-friendly green infrastructure.
Lily Madjus, communications manager at the SFPUC, said that the Sunset Boulevard Greenway is a great example of what green infrastructure can do for San Francisco.
“We think Sunset Boulevard is a great area to demonstrate what we can do for storm water management,” Madjus said. “We want to improve storm water management because it is a beautiful area. Sunset Boulevard is one of those rare locations in the city where there is actually green parcels you can drive beside.”
The SFPUC has a rigorous three-year timeline for the Sunset Boulevard Greenway. The project is in the planning and design phase, and the SFPUC is taking suggestions from the public until Oct. 31. Construction will begin in mid-2015, and the project’s completion is planned for summer of 2016.
Until October 31, Sunset and Parkside residents can give their input on the Sunset Boulevard Greenway filling out this survey on SFPUCs website: http://www.sunset.metroquest.com/, or by visiting their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SFWater.
In addition, two community meetings are planned for Monday, Oct. 28 to discuss the Sunset Greenway. One is at 6 p.m. at 2200 Kirkham St. near 26th Avenue. The other is from 7-8 p.m. at 1736 9th Ave., between Moraga and Noriega streets.
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