Workers drill into the soil surrounding the gymnasium to test for earthquake safety. Photos by Chris Lee & Jeremy Varon
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A drilling company took soil samples from the campus this month to see how safe the school would be in the event of an earthquake.

Exploration Geoservices Inc. began drilling on different sites throughout the Lowell campus on May 4 to retrieve soil samples to monitor seismic activity. Using the soil samples collected, a structural engineer hired by the San Francisco Unified School District will process the results and determine the seismic upgrades the school needs to maintain a safe and stable environment. The project lasted for two days according to assistant principal of administration Ellen Reller.

In the 2011-12 school year, a bond measure was passed to shed attention to schools in the San Francisco district that need seismic upgrades. The director of the district’s bond program, William Chow, came with their contractors to the school to choose different parts of the campus to drill.

Reller said it was a necessary project. “It’s a good thing that they are checking for upgrades because no one really knows when the next big earthquake will happen,” Reller said. The district will receive the results approximately a month after drilling.