Project: Lake Merced Restoration
Lake Merced is an emergency source of water for the City of San Francisco to be used for fire fighting or sanitation purposes if no other sources of water are available. The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department manages the recreational areas of the Lake under a 1950 agreement with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. The SFPUC manages the water aspects of the Lake.
Historically Lake Merced has been replenished by storm water runoff from the surrounding watershed. As the areas surrounding the lake became developed, less rainfall was reaching the Lake and recharging the underlying aquifer. The Cities of Daly City, San Francisco and San Bruno, as well as several golf courses, cemeteries, and some private users, rely on groundwater extracted from the Westside Basin for drinking water and irrigation. As more groundwater is pumped from deeper aquifers to meet growing water needs and increasing urbanization, water in the shallow aquifer that is a part of Lake Merced now flows slowly towards pumping depressions in Northern San Mateo County. The problem is exacerbated by reduction of stormwater flows to the shallow aquifer, which are now for the most part routed to the Ocean or to San Francisco's Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Published: 01/05/2005
| Updated: 09/05/2008
| Published By: Bureau of Environmental Management (BEM)
The latest data on Lake Merced's groundwater and Lake levels are now available. The SFPUC has been measuring groundwater levels and Lake Merced water levels to better understand their interrelationship. Data are being collected for several reasons, including restoration of lake levels, future planned groundwater development in the Sunset District and to study a pilot groundwater banking project with the City of Daly City. Water levels are collected daily to weekly, depending on the location.
Published: 12/02/2004
| Updated: 09/05/2008
| Published By: Water Resources Planning
This report provides an analysis of the impacts of utilizing four different water sources (recycled water, groundwater, SFPUC System water, or stormwater) to raise the lake level to four different elevations.
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Published: 11/22/2004
| Updated: 09/05/2008
| Published By: Bureau of Environmental Management (BEM)
This report on Lake Merced, prepared for the SFPUC by EDAW, Inc., is now available. It sets the stage for subsequent reports that access environmental impacts, develop a monitoring program, and detail the regulatory process for various alternatives.
Published: 09/21/2007
| Updated: 04/03/2008
| Published By: Communications and Public Outreach
