Candlestick Park demolition paused because of water usage screw-up

This story almost strikes me as some kind of nonsense from The Onion. NBC Bay Area reporter Bob Redell is reporting the demolition of Candlestick Park is being delayed due to issues with water being used to hold down dust in the rubble. The San Jose Mercury News reported on the water issue Thursday afternoon in a great read to see just how absurd the situation is at this point.

Lennar Corp. is handling the demolition of the stadium. The original plan was to implode Candlestick, but the neighbors complained because of health concerns with the fallout from the implosion. This led to the decision to tear it down over the span of a few months. It still creates dust issues, but they could use water to contain the dust.

The problem though is the water they have used. There are legal requirements in controlling the dust, but the problem was in deciding what kind of water to use. The state of California, and really most of the southwestern portion of the United States is dealing with severe drought conditions. And by severe, I mean historically bad.

There is free recycled water two miles away from the stadium at a sewage treatment plant. However, instead of using that water, the company has been using fresh drinking water from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. For those unaware, Hetch Hetchy provides clean water for the San Francisco Bay Area, and like the rest of California, drought conditions are leading to rationing of water in some places.

This is not as simple as blaming Lennar Corp. for the problems. It sounds like a mess of miscommunication and poor management from both sides. Lennar claimed the San Francisco Public Utilities Commissioner said they were not allowed to use the recycled water. the SFPUC responded by saying Lennar misinterpreted the email, and the water could be used for dust control. Both sides are basically blaming each other for this.

It would appear they are stopping to take stock of their screw-ups and get this thing straightened out. I suppose it is better late than never, but given the current state of the California drought, this is a [site decorum]-up of major proportions.