Sunset Reservoir facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sunset Reservoir
Sunset Reservoir Location in San Francisco Bay Area
Location	San Francisco, California
Coordinates	37°44′59″N 122°29′00″W / 37.7496°N 122.4833°W / 37.7496; -122.4833
Type	Reservoir
Primary inflows	Municipal Water System
Primary outflows	Municipal Water System
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	330 m (1,080 ft)
Max. width	155 m (509 ft)
Surface area	11 acres (4.5 ha)
Max. depth	10 m (33 ft)
Water volume	270 acre⋅ft (330,000 m3)
Surface elevation	116 m (381 ft)

Sunset Reservoir is a very important place in San Francisco, California. It's one of the biggest underground tanks that stores water for the city. This reservoir is part of San Francisco's main water system.

You can find it in the Sunset District at 24th Avenue and Ortega Street. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission takes care of it. The reservoir was finished in 1960. It's a huge concrete tank, about 11 acres big. Inside, it has 720 columns that help hold up the roof. The reservoir can hold a lot of water, about 270 acre-feet.

Making the Reservoir Stronger

The Sunset Reservoir is a very important part of San Francisco's water supply. Because it's so important, engineers have worked to make sure it stays safe and strong, especially during earthquakes. This work is called "seismic upgrades."

Earthquake Safety

To make the reservoir safer from earthquakes, several things were done:

• The soil around the reservoir's walls was made stronger. This helps the ground stay stable.
• The walls and roof were updated with special parts that can move a little during an earthquake. This helps prevent cracks.
• Strong supports were added inside the reservoir. These act like braces to keep everything together.
• The foundation, which is the base of the reservoir, was also made stronger.

General Repairs and Updates

Besides earthquake safety, other improvements were made to keep the reservoir in good shape:

• Any old or damaged concrete was fixed.
• Parts of the inside lining were replaced to keep the water clean.
• The pipes that bring water in were updated.
• New fences were put up to keep the area secure.
• The plants and trees around the reservoir were improved.

Powering the City with Solar Energy

The Sunset Reservoir isn't just for water; it also helps make clean energy! A special project called the Sunset Reservoir Solar Project put many solar panels on its roof.

How Solar Panels Help

The roof of the reservoir is very large, about 480,000 square feet. On this huge roof, 25,000 solar panels were installed. These panels turn sunlight into electricity. This solar power plant can make 5 megawatts of electricity. This project greatly increased how much solar power San Francisco could make. It opened in December 2010.