Now that worrying about infrastructure is so 2002 Strokes hot, everyone's starting to worry about the state of SF's infrastructure. We know that our streets are a mess, but that's not the half of it.

Last week, a report from the Port Comission came out which said that the Port is basically falling apart and if something isn't done soon, at least seven piers could be closed due to safety concerns. And the historic buildings at Pier 70 might have to be closed too because of concerns to those buildings.

The problems with the piers mainly come because they're old, sitting in salt water, and haven't really been fixed up or repaired in a long, long, long time. Oh, and they also need to be retrofitted. Total cost of the whole thing? More than $1.1 billion dollars and yes, that's with a "b" and no, there's no money for it. So far, the port comission has tried to find the money by trying to get development going on the ports, but nothing brings the crazy in this town like the word "development." You would think that finding something to do with some of the most prime real estate in the world would be easy, but nuh-uh. So far, it's been limited by bad politics, bad ideas, and the fact that if anybody even thinks about building something that could possibly block somebody's view, hell is to be paid.

But wait, there's more!

Turns out our sewers are falling apart too. More than 70% of the sewers are over 75 years old and some of them are over 150 years old. Total length of the sewerage system, btw, is 900 miles. And the cost? Last time it was measured, it was between 80 million and 1 billion dollars, but that was almost four years ago. And no, we don't have the money for that either which is why rates have been rising almost 13% a year. You would think too that fixing the sewage system wouldn't devolve into the usual progessive/downtown spitball fight, but there again, you would be wrong. To get the bowl rolling (ha!) on sewage repairs, the PUC is having a series of public workshops for people wanting to hear about sewage repair. Quelle fun!

Us? We're wearing helmets. And saying a little prayer everytime we flush.