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SFPUC hears months-long debate over State Water Board's Bay-Delta flow proposal; staff warns of severe supply impacts
Summary
At a Jan. 10 SFPUC meeting, staff outlined the State Water Resources Control Board's revised plan to require 40% unimpaired flows Feb—Jun, warned of potential rationing and supply impacts, and heard more than three hours of public testimony from cities, businesses and environmental groups urging either settlements or stronger flows.
Steve Ritchie, assistant general manager for water, told the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on Jan. 10 that the State Water Resources Control Board's revised Bay-Delta proposal would require 40% of unimpaired flows from key San Joaquin tributaries each year during February through June and include an adaptive band of 30% to 50%. He said the plan's mechanics, as currently framed, could force the SFPUC to contribute an unusually large share of required flows and would trigger deep mandatory rationing without major new supply investments.
"We could be required to contribute 52 percent of the required flow of the Tuolumne River per our agreement with the Turlock and Modesto Irrigation Districts," Ritchie said. "Without major investment in uncertain water supply projects ... we would not be able to meet our 184,000,000 gallon per day contractual obligations to our wholesale customers." He described storage…
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