SFPUC urges negotiated settlement with state on Bay-Delta flow rules as public testimony splits

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on Aug. 28 pressed for a negotiated settlement with state regulators and warned that the State Water Resources Control Board's draft amendments to the Bay-Delta water quality plan could impose large water-supply impacts while delivering uncertain ecological benefits for the Tuolumne River.

Assistant General Manager for Water Steve Ritchie told commissioners the state's proposal is based on generalized "unimpaired-flow" studies from other river systems rather than on Tuolumne-specific analyses. "Not of the Tuolumne River itself," Ritchie said when asked whether the state's proposed flows were grounded in studies of the Tuolumne. He described the PUC's alternative, which the agency calls the Tuolumne River Management Plan, as a science-based package that pairs targeted, "functional" flows with habitat restoration, gravel augmentation and adaptive monitoring intended to deliver biological benefits with less total water release.

"We're proposing a win-win solution that will offer best results for the Tuolumne River fish and residents," General Manager Harlan Kelly said, framing the PUC approach as one that seeks both habitat improvements and continued reliability for roughly 2.7 million Bay Area customers served by the system.

Wholesale-customer organizations and business groups said the state's flow…