Palo Alto commission splits over proposed amendments to San Francisco water agreement and updated Tier 2 allocation plan

The Utilities Advisory Commission debated but did not deliver a majority recommendation on a package of amendments to Palo Altowater contracts with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and an updated Tier 2 drought allocation plan negotiated by the Bay Area wholesale customers (Bosca/BOSCA).

Carla Daley, Assistant Director of Utilities Resource Management, told commissioners the package resulted from nearly three years of negotiations among 26 wholesale agencies and the SFPUC and includes three linked components: a reset of minimum purchase quantities (MPQs) for four agencies, a change to Tier 1 allocation mechanics in drought, and an updated Tier 2 drought allocation implementation plan. Daley said the MPQs would be reset at 80% of prior four-year non-drought use, include a one-year drought rebound, and allow the four MPQ agencies to be treated as a family for penalty purposes. "Mountain View has paid more than $11,000,000 in penalties for unused water," Daley said as she…