Buried Waters - Midterm Brainstorming

I'm still not quite sure what direction I will be going in for the midterm project. I've been finding the Wiggle very interesting, which led me to think about bike paths in Glen Park. But I'm not a bicyclist, and was actually drawn to the Wiggle more because I live on it. So, it doesn't really make sense for me to take a bike focus. This led me to think that maybe I could just explore something with movement and pathways through the space. I'm very interested in the mapping and definitely want to do something in that direction. I was also interested when Paula mentioned the garbage angle.

I'm still formulating it all and have still not been able to actually get to the park. I will be doing this this week and will continue to let my ideas solidify.

After today's lecture I would like to focus more on Human Geography, so still unsure what path that will take.

Buried Waters - GPS Points Plotted from Panhandle to the Mission

GPS Points plotted by Elsie Tozier, Eduardo Ribeiro and Alisa Highfill:

Divisadero btw Page & Oak
005 N 37 46 21.2
W 122 26 14.4

We met for a drink at the Page:


Fell & Broderick
007 N 37 46 25.6
W 122 26 22.2

Then walked up to the panhandle:


Fell & Baker
008 N 37 46 24.6
W 122 26 27.8

Then walked to Elsie's house:

Baker & Hayes Elsie's House
009 N 37 46 27.7
W 122 26 25.7

Scott & Oak
010 N 37 46 23.8
W 122 26 09.4

Then to my house:

Pierce & Waller Alisa's House
011 N 37 46 14.3
W 122 26 01.4


Then the long walk to Eduardo's house:

Duboce Park
013 N 37 46 10.6
W 122 25 59.0

Market/ 14th/ Church at Safeway
014 N 37 46 03.3
W 122 25 44.5

Dolores & 15th
015 N 37 45 58.2
W 122 25 36.3


16th in front of the Roxy
016 N 37 45 53.3
W 122 25 20.6


Valencia & 16th
017 N 37 45 53.0
W 122 25 19.7

Mission and 16th
018 N 37 45 54.1
W 122 25 11.4

Capp & 17th Uptown
019 N 37 45 48.9
W 122 25 05.8

S. Van Ness & 18th Whiz Burger
020 N 37 45 43
W 122 25 03.2

Folsom & 19th Fire fighter
021 N 37 45 37.6
W 122 25 54.1


Bryant &19th on the new development
022 N 37 45 37.7
W 122 25 35.5


Hampshire & 19th Eduardo's House
023 N 37 45 37.6
W 122 25 28.8

Buried Waters - The Wiggle and the Combined Water Treatment Facility

I was so interested to learn recently that the wiggle, a bike route in San Francisco that only uses streets with minimal incline, is actually the location of an underground creek. This makes sense, as water always finds the path of least resistance to make its way through the landscape. This valley was actually flattened by the run of the stream.

Since I live on the wiggle, I'm fascinated by the culture of this famous bike path. I've seen every type of person imaginable ride by my house - young, old, naked, costumed, rich, poor, you name it. Lots of naked people! Lots of bikes that haul a little trailer for a huge sound system.


The wiggle takes the route of the paved over Sans Souci creek. This valley has been used as a transportation path since at least the mid-1800s. Joel Pomeranz states, "In the historic photos that I got from Greg Gaar, in 1856, farm fences went in a wiggle shape along a creek, separating the land that way. The easiest way to get from Mission Dolores to the Presidio (the earliest European outposts here) was right through there, the flattest way."


"A friend at the SF Bike Coalition clued me in to a secret tribute to the vanished waterway, hidden in the mural behind the supermarket. I studied it for about ten minutes before I discovered the words hidden, appropriately, in the brushstrokes of a stream."
- The Bold Italic, Watershed Moment by Matt Baume, June 7, 2010

I was also interested to learn a little more about the pros of cons of the combined water treatment facility. It definitely seems wasteful to put the storm water through the same cleansing process as our sewer water, since the storm water is not as contaminated. At the same time, however, other cities are now thinking about doing the same thing, as storm waters are becoming more and more contaminated with oil runoff and other chemicals.

There does not, at this time, seem to be any clear answer to the issue of combined vs. separate water treatment facilities. Most cities migrated away from combined treatment facilities, but San Francisco opted to not take on the expense or the inconvenience of opening every street in the city.