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SFPUC urges tailored 'functional flows' for Tuolumne River, warns state unimpaired-flow mandate could cut supplies
Summary
SFPUC staff told commissioners that the state water board's Bay-Delta plan, which would apply a percent-of-unimpaired-flow standard, could substantially reduce San Francisco's water supply and argued for a Tuolumne-specific "functional flows" approach combined with funded non-flow measures; environmental groups urged stronger flow protections and peer review of models.
Steve Ritchie, assistant general manager for water at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, told the commission Sept. 25 that the State Water Resources Control Board's proposed Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan's reliance on a percent-of-unimpaired-flow approach risks large and uncertain impacts on San Francisco's supplies and may not achieve the expected ecological benefits on the heavily modified Lower Tuolumne River. "The state's proposal has significant impacts on our water supply with uncertain benefits for the Tuolumne River," Ritchie said, recommending a functional-flows regime plus funded non-flow measures and adaptive management instead.
Ritchie said the commission's analysis shows the city might need as much as 900,000 acre-feet of new storage or projects equivalent to roughly 100 million gallons per day (MGD) in drought years to offset losses under…
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