Active Alerts

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. Learn more or review active service alerts.

Real Estate Services

The Real Estate Services Division (RES) oversees the SFPUC’s income-producing property. RES negotiates agreements for the lease, license, purchase and sale of real property in the SFPUC’s real property portfolio and administers existing real estate agreements. RES develops and implements policies to support the operational and real estate needs of other SFPUC divisions. RES does not provide property management services. Other SFPUC divisions issue daily or short-term access or use permits for SFPUC lands. The Land Engineering, Natural Resources and Lands Management, City Distribution Division and the Hetch Hetchy Water and Power System may grant permits for short-term uses.

About Our Lands

The SFPUC has an enormous amount of land—approximately 66,000 acres of watershed land; 1,600 miles of water pipelines and tunnels, 160 miles of electrical transmission lines, 900 miles of sewer lines (collectively, we call this the Right of Way); reservoirs and tanks; treatment plants; maintenance yards; and offices. The SFPUC owns most of these lands in fee.

SFPUC utilities run through San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Tuolumne, Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties. The SFPUC supplies water to 2.6 million customers in those counties. In fact, the SFPUC is the largest single landowner in San Mateo and Alameda counties because maintaining a clean and reliable water supply requires vast amounts of protected watershed.

Land Use

Primarily, SFPUC land is used to deliver water, power, and sewer services. Secondary uses may occur on SFPUC land if they produce income to benefit our ratepayers through rental to third-party users or help our utility partners. Secondary uses must be compatible with any primary use and SFPUC policies.

In-City Project Review and Land Use Application

  • If you would like to use SFPUC land in San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda Counties, please contact Bay Area Project Review. If you would like to use SFPUC land in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne Counties, please contact Hetch Hetchy Project Review.

Before the Bay Area’s intensive development occurred over the last 60 years, our Right of Way and Watershed lands sat in rural, agricultural areas. Today, much of the SFPUC’s property lies in suburbia and our Right of Way is located behind large office buildings and shopping centers in Silicon Valley and through community parks.

RES has negotiated rental agreements for a broad range of uses including parking lots, golf courses, utility crossings, telecommunication towers, quarries, landscaping, parks, and more. RES has also learned what does not work for the SFPUC. Although this list is not exhaustive, the SFPUC disfavors any use that:

  • contaminates our land or water with hazardous materials;
  • provides aerial utility crossing or overhead transmission lines within the Right of Way or watershed;
  • cannot effectively be removed in a timely manner, upon the SFPUC's request for maintenance or in case of an emergency;
  • fulfills another jurisdiction's open space, setback, parking, or third-party development requirements;
  • includes installation of structures or trees on the Right of Way; or
  • would increase the SFPUC’s potential liability or diminish the security of the SFPUC’s utility infrastructure.