On January 6, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission employee Martin Sanchez, who makes $111,000 a year, decided he didn’t want to take the time to look for a bathroom, so instead he decided to urinate in the closest place available: the Priest Reservoir.
Alerted by another commission employee that employees had witnessed numerous other incidents when Sanchez had urinated in the reservoir, the Commission is considering suspending Sanchez for five days without pay. The witnesses said that one incident occurred the same day they learned he had garnered a management promotion and they would have to report to him, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The reservoir, which lies in the Sierra foothills, is the source of drinking water for almost 2.5 million people in the Bay Area. Utilities commission spokesman Tyrone Jue told the Chronicle that the reservoir had been drained for maintenance, so the public was not at risk.
CBS San Francisco reports that the Priest Reservoir, one of four Hetch Hetchy holding reservoirs, treats water gleaned from the Sierra with ultraviolet light and chlorine, then transfers it to people in the Bay Area.
Last April, Portland, Oregon, jettisoned 38 million gallons of water after a teenager urinated in Mount Tabor Reservoir No. 5.
Jue had a warning for any employee who would urinate in a reservoir, according to CNN: “Come to work wearing your big boy pants or diapers. If not, you’ll need to find another place to work.”