The Emergency Firefighting Water System is an independent high-pressure water supply system dedicated to fire protection and suppression. It was installed in 1913 in response to the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 and consists of a 135-mile pipeline network, a high-elevation reservoir with two large-capacity tanks, two pumping stations, three fireboats and underground water storage tanks (cisterns).
Funded by the 2014 ESER bond, the City has implemented projects to increasingly improve the Emergency Firefighting Water System’s seismic reliability and range of coverage. These projects have been allocated to repair, replace, and extend system components to increase the ability to provide adequate water for fire-fighting purposes following a major earthquake and during multiple-alarm fires from other causes, including repairs and upgrades to core facilities, cisterns, and pipelines and tunnels.
Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response (ESER) is San Francisco's bond program to strategically address critical public safety needs in the City. The program identifies seismic improvements and upgrades to City-owned facilities that are needed to help safeguard San Francisco. Learn more here.