Service Alerts
Your service may be interrupted for a variety of reasons. We make every effort to notify customers before interrupting service if a service outage is related to planned maintenance or improvement activities. However, emergency repairs require service to be shut off without advance notice. SFPUC crews work tirelessly 24/7 to monitor the system and respond to water main breaks, power outages, and sewer issues regardless of weather, holiday, or time of day. If you are experiencing a water, power, or sewer emergency or service problem call our 24-hour hotline at 3-1-1 or (415) 701-2311 from outside SF or log on at sf311.org.
Service interruptions are posted on Nextdoor by neighborhood and may be listed below.
-
Discolored Water due to Water System Operations in the Sunset/ Richmond Area.
12/4/24 11 am
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission crews began routine maintenance at Merced Manor Reservoir on Tuesday 12/3/24. This included taking the reservoir offline to clean it. The area served by Merced Manor will be served from the Sunset Reservoir during this time. The system operations to accommodate this changeover may temporarily cause discolored water for some customers in the area on 12/3 and 12/4.
SFPUC water continues to meet all state and federal drinking water standards.
If tap water appears discolored, open the cold water tap as close to your meter (the sidewalk) as possible, and let it run for 3 to 5 minutes. If it is still brown, wait one hour and repeat.
The water quality impacts are temporary and might reappear this evening - 12/4 after 10pm when final changes are completed.
For more information about dirty or discolored water, please visit our water quality page.
To report water quality issues please call 311.
Thank you for your patience.
Learn more about Water Main Breaks and Power Outages
Water Main Breaks
SFPUC operates and maintains 1,200 miles of water pipelines also called water mains in San Francisco. Approximately 20% of San Francisco’s water pipes are about 100 years old. Although we have an active program to replace aging and vulnerable water mains each year, we are not able to prevent all water main breaks. On average, there are between 100 to 200 water main breaks in our system per year. Learn more about water main breaks.
During a water main break, customers near the break may experience temporary changes to their water such as discolored water. Open the cold water tap as close to your meter (the sidewalk) as possible, and let it run for 3 to 5 minutes. If it is still brown or milky, wait one hour and repeat. Learn more about dirty or discolored water.
Power Outages
Power outages can occur for a variety of reasons – whether unplanned or planned. We recognize the inconvenience that a loss of electricity can cause. We want to make sure you are prepared in the event of a service interruption and how you can stay safe.
Learn more about power outages, including how to prepare for planned outages and what to do during an outage.