Save the California Delta Alliance (STCDA)

Scientists have just issued a new report about the possibility of the Hayward Fault to suffer a major earthquake in the near future. Fortunately for we in the Delta, the impacts will be slight. But that doesn’t stop the people advocating for the Delta Tunnels to try to slant the report to fit their position. (What’s new?)

The “Haywired” analysis was as if the slip were centered under the city of Oakland. Mercury News Hayward Faults Nightmare Scenario.

The report discusses potential impacts to the Bay Area’s water supply. The Hetch-Hetchy aqueduct pipes travel across that route, as do East Bay Mud’s water supply lines. Those are a concern. The Hetch-Hetchy pipes take water from Hetch-Hetchy near Yosemite to Crystal Springs Reservoir and that clear Sierra water is used by both San Francisco and Silicon Valley. East Bay Mud, more recently, installed a pumping station near Sacramento (in Freeport) and routes water from there to the East Bay.

Of course, some (i.e., proponents of the Delta Tunnels) are linking that HayWired report to the earthquake scare about the Delta. But there’s really no concern for the water exported from the Delta, even though the water exporters and California Department of Water Resources (DWR) have been trying to build that case, that hoax for years. Dr. Pyke and others have called that the “earthquake bogey” and disproved any connection. But, of course, if you scare the L.A. population enough into thinking they could end up thirsty if the “big one” happened up north, well that gets buy-in for the Delta Tunnels.

Well, here is the important point:

To protect the water supply of their collective 4 million customers, both East Bay MUD and the San Francisco PUC have protected their water mains with clever engineering systems that allow the earth to shift around the pipes, which range from 6 to 9ft in diameter, without damaging them. One of the San Francisco PUC’s major pipes is fitted with ball joints and slip joints that allow the steel-lined tube to shift and move without breaking.

San Francisco PUC’s ongoing upgrades are part of the $4.8 billion Regional Management Program, of which a key element is major seismic upgrades.

Among East Bay MUD’s major supply pipes, critical sections in high-risk fault zones have been retrofitted so they can shift and flex within spacious concrete tunnels.

“The pipe is on rollers so that when that offset occurs, it can move with the shifting earth,” said Andrea Pook, an East Bay MUD spokesperson, referring to a 2,000ft section of pipeline bored through the East Bay Hills.

“That tunnel could actually shear, but without shearing the pipe itself,” Sykes added.

For the unlikely event that the main water line is ruptured, East Bay MUDkeeps a six-month supply of reservoir water ready on the west side of the hills.

Now, let’s compare that with the Delta Tunnels

The tunnels are not being designed to withstand earthquakes. Really? Yes. I posted this earlier showing how the Delta Tunnels are NOT being designed to withstand earthquakes: Tunnels not being designed to withstand earthquake in the Delta!

The map in the HayWired report shows that, at most, some small aftershocks could shake the Delta area.

Fortunately, the levees have proven to not be prone to falling down in an earthquake. So there really isn’t any problem – just the state agencies trying to make more hay.
How California Water Suppliers Are Getting Earthquake-Ready.