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Commission hears calls to revisit drought assumptions and flags uncertainties on regional groundwater project
Summary
Public commenters and stakeholders urged the SFPUC to reexamine drought planning using new tree‑ring analyses and to provide a clearer schedule and yield estimate for the regional groundwater storage and recovery project; staff said a promised report has been supplied but that technical challenges and unclear yields remain.
Speakers at the commission’s public‑comment period and in the communications segment pressed staff to reexamine water‑supply assumptions and to provide clearer schedules and yield estimates for groundwater projects.
Dave Warner (Palo Alto) asked staff to review a tree‑ring analysis of Tuolumne River flow data spanning 1,100 years and to reassess the drought planning model that is based on the 1987–92 drought plus a 2.5‑year cushion. Warner said his preliminary application of the model to the longer record found no droughts requiring more storage than the 1987–92 event and recommended a risk‑adjusted cost‑benefit analysis if the findings hold.
Peter Dreckmeyer (Tuolumne River Trust) and other stakeholders urged faster convening of the mayor’s stakeholder group on water supply and Bay‑Delta implementation, noting ecosystem benefits from past land purchases such as Dos Rios and urging staff to accelerate cooperation with irrigation districts and the state water board.
Nicole Sankula (BOSCA) said staff had delayed a promised January 2019 project update on the regional groundwater storage and recovery project; she reported that field testing start dates have slipped and that water‑quality concerns at some wells and significant pre‑test preparation remain. "Significant challenges remain on the project and these challenges will compromise the project's currently adopted completion date and budget," she said, and she urged a revised schedule and budget be provided.
Deputy General Manager Michael Carlin and other staff described ongoing statewide Bay‑Delta negotiations and said a tentative settlement package was being evaluated by the State Water Board with possible outcomes by mid‑ to late‑October; staff agreed to pursue a stakeholder convening soon and to provide the commission a clearer schedule once state actions become firmer.
Commissioners asked staff to bring back a timetable and to consider rationing and supply diversification scenarios as part of any reassessment.
