Millbrae approves BASCA-backed changes to regional water shortage plan and water-supply agreement

The Millbrae City Council on May 27 voted 5-0 to approve two actions related to regional water supply: adoption of an updated Tier 2 drought allocation plan among wholesale customers and support for amendments to the Water Supply Agreement with San Francisco that implement a new “family plan” approach and reset certain minimum purchase requirements.

Danielle McPherson, senior water-resources specialist for the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BASCA), presented the package and described it as a negotiated, multi‑year update among the 26 wholesale agencies that rely on San Francisco’s regional system. "Millbrae, you rely on it for 100% of your potable demand," McPherson told the council while explaining why the wholesale plan matters for local reliability.

Nut graf: The two-part action updates how the region allocates limited water during drought and modifies longstanding minimum-purchase obligations that have required some large agencies to buy water their customers do not use. BASCA and staff described the changes as a modest per-customer cost increase with significant benefits for agencies that have invested in conservation and local supplies.

Key features of the action package approved by council: - Tier 2 update: Revises how the wholesale share of San Francisco’s drought allocation is distributed among the 26 wholesale customers. The update uses policy principles intended to protect health and safety, provide predictability and avoid disincentivizing efficiency and local supply development. - Excess-use family plan: If the wholesale customers collectively use less than their Tier 1 allocation, agencies that individually exceed their allocation will not automatically face an excess-use penalty; savings by some agencies can offset excess use by others. - Minimum Purchase Quantities (MPQ) reset and family plan: The amendment reduces and modernizes MPQs that date to the 1960s and adds a one-year “drought rebound” MPQ and a collective MPQ family plan so that large agencies that collectively meet minimums are not penalized individually.

BASCA staff and a cost-benefit analysis presented at the meeting showed the package would impose a minor increase to wholesale water costs—between less than $0.01 and $0.04 per 100 cubic feet in the scenarios modeled—while removing the risk that big wholesale purchasers would be billed for water their customers cannot use. McPherson and audience speakers framed the change as enabling continued investment in local supply projects and recycled water efforts.

Ending: Councilmembers expressed support for the negotiated package and approved both resolutions. Staff noted the amendments must be adopted by each of the wholesale agencies before they take effect; Millbrae’s vote is one of 26 required approvals.