S.F. gets off the crapper

Ironically, the new battle against storm-sewer dumping has brought San Francisco's combined system back into vogue. Most West Coast cities built separate systems that treated sewage but not rainwater. In the East Bay, for example, polluted storm runoff is dumped directly into the Bay, while San Francisco's combined system channels it to treatment plants that catch many of the toxins along with the sewage. "So we've come full circle to the point where the combined system is better," explains Halstead.

But to those who swim in the bay, it still isn't good enough. Pete Bianucci is a commissioner for the Dolphin Swim Club, which has about 500 members who do offshore laps near Aquatic Park. Bianucci has been swimming in the bay for 35 years and has seen his share of diesel spills, dredging and garbage muck up the waters. "I can taste and smell the sewage," he says, "it has an odor of its own. We get sick from it. There are times when we all have a cold or throat problems. And there are times when we can't even go in."

Meanwhile, the Mole grinds on and on, with only one real challenge ahead -- will the two ends of the Richmond tunnel meet? After digging a small section at the Presidio, the machine was moved to the Great Highway portal, where it began its laser-guided journey home. If the Mole's a quarter-inch off, no problem; an error of a foot or more means trouble for the engineers. "We won't like to have visitors on that day in case we are off," chuckles Michael Kobler, a DPW engineer. "But we will hit it dead on. This is what we do for a living."

Vince Bielski