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SFPUC reports Hetch Hetchy at 78% and says city has met annual water savings target
Summary
SFPUC Assistant GM Steve Ritchie said Hetch Hetchy reservoirs are at about 78% capacity and the system has saved about 11.4 billion gallons so far this water year, meeting the agency—s target; he cautioned that statewide drought conditions and regulatory changes remain uncertain.
Steve Ritchie, assistant general manager for water, gave the commission a drought and supply update, saying Hetch Hetchy storage was at roughly 78 percent of capacity and the agency has met its systemwide annual conservation target. "We estimated that to meet our targets for the year we needed to save about 11,000,000,000 gallons of water system wide and here we are ... saved already 11,400,000,000 gallons," Ritchie said.
Ritchie also described the Hetch Hetchy system—s recent climate record: the last four water years were the hottest and driest on record for their system. He noted a National Weather Service forecast that increases the probability of above‑normal precipitation for Dec–Feb and Jan–Mar, but he warned that such outlooks are probabilistic and not guarantees of heavy rainfall.
On regulation, Ritchie said the State Water Resources Control Board—s emergency conservation regulations are set to expire in February 2016, and the state is considering potential longer‑term regulatory changes. The commission was told staff will monitor and comment on state rulemaking as appropriate. Ritchie reiterated that the SFPUC continues efforts to defend its water rights and assess supply options in concert with regional partners.
The commission heard questions about a recent State Board curtailment lifting for Sacramento and Feather rivers; Ritchie said that change did not affect SFPUC operations because it did not alter curtailments on the San Joaquin River, which affect the agency—s supplies. He concluded by urging continued conservation and noted that staff will report back on related developments.
Next steps: staff will continue monitoring storage and forecasts, work on water‑rights matters and provide additional updates as the state regulatory process unfolds.
