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Palo Alto committee receives One Water plan; UAC urged council to reject acceptance
Summary
City staff presented a 20‑year One Water planning tool for Palo Alto (2025–2045). The Utility Advisory Commission warned the methodology is potentially misleading and urged council to vote against acceptance; the committee voted 3–0 to receive the report and the UAC letter and forward them to council as information.
Palo Alto staff presented a 20‑year One Water planning study and an accompanying Excel‑based scenario tool intended to help the City evaluate water supply and conservation options through 2045. The Climate Action & Sustainability Committee voted to receive the study and an attached letter from the Utility Advisory Commission (UAC) and to forward the materials to City Council as an information item.
Carla Daley, assistant director of utilities, described the One Water plan as a planning framework rather than a detailed feasibility study: “The study is not a detailed feasibility analysis,” Daley said, adding that the tool is “very easy to change” so staff can rerun scenarios as regional assumptions shift.
The plan brings previously separate pieces of water planning together — conservation programs, groundwater readiness, regional partnership options, and larger alternatives such as desalination or direct potable reuse — and evaluates portfolios using four criteria: reliability, cost,…
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