Final concert canceled as spill floods Stern Grove
San Francisco’s Stern Grove will remain closed at its east end “until further notice,” the city’s Recreation and Park Department said, because of a ruptured water main on Sloat Boulevard.
As a result of flooding, Sunday’s series finale for the 84th annual Stern Grove Festival has been canceled. The free concert, featuring the always popular Oakland funk band Tower of Power and the rapper Too Short, will not be rescheduled.
“This was definitely one of our most highly anticipated concerts of an incredible season, but the damage is too severe to move forward safely at this time,” said festival Executive Director Bob Fiedler in a statement. “We are grateful that no one was hurt, and we are proud to have overcome so many challenges this year to have presented nine exceptional concerts for more than 50,000 people.”
Festival organizers called the damage “catastrophic” in a tweet.
The leak spilled 700,000 gallons of drinking water, much of it pouring into the concert venue. According to Rec and Park, the meadow, parking lot and area around backstage are covered in up to 2 feet of silt, sand and sediment. An asphalt path has washed away, the root systems of 50 mature eucalyptus trees have been weakened, and gulleys and ravines were created by the runoff. Several trees are down, and it is expected to take two weeks for the venue to dry out enough for repairs and restoration to begin. The Pine Lake dog-play area to the west, which was also closed by the flood, has now reopened.
On Wednesday, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission reported that the pipe ruptured Monday afternoon when crews were repairing a leaking air valve on a transmission main bringing water from the Peninsula into the city.
While a bolt was being tightened, the valve failed, sending a geyser of water into the air at Sloat Boulevard and 22nd Avenue and flooding adjacent areas, including Stern Grove.
It took more than three hours for crews to isolate the break and reduce the plume of water shooting into the air. It then took a few more hours to drain the pipeline so that it could be repaired.
Crews worked through the night both Monday and Tuesday nights to refill the pipeline. Residents nearby reported low water pressure during this period. The system finally went back online just before 5 a.m. Wednesday with full pressure.
“If your tap water appears brown due to sediment stirred up, open the cold water tap nearest to your meter (the sidewalk) and let it run for 3 to 5 minutes,” the agency said.