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Public commenter urges SF PUC to fix East Palo Alto water allocation that she says stalls housing
Summary
A public commenter told the commission that East Palo Alto’s wholesale water allocation is too low and that the city recently imposed a moratorium on new development for lack of guaranteed water; commissioners said staff have been directed to find a resolution and plan a site visit.
Speck Rose Krantz, executive director of Restore Hetch Hetchy, told the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission during general public comment that East Palo Alto — one of the commission’s wholesale customers — is being constrained by a low water allocation that has caused the city to impose a moratorium on new development, including an affordable housing project.
"Last year, the residential use was about 36 gallons per day," Krantz said, describing East Palo Alto’s residential consumption as low but its apportionment as insufficient for planned development. She said the shortage is not due to overall water availability but to the city’s allocation under existing wholesale contracts and California water law, and she urged the commission to work with the city and other stakeholders to address the allocation and its equity implications.
Commission leadership responded that the matter had been discussed at recent meetings, that staff had been directed to pursue a resolution, and that the commission planned to visit East Palo Alto and meet with local officials to view the situation firsthand. The commission’s representative said the goal is to "make East Palo Alto whole" and to move quickly on feasible solutions.
No formal action was taken at the meeting; the comment was made during the general public comment period and the commission noted ongoing staff work and an upcoming visit.
