SFPUC keeps 10% voluntary conservation target as WSIP delays raise supply questions

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission staff on June 25 told the commission the city is continuing a systemwide voluntary conservation target of 10 percent to manage the current multi-year drought and to avoid a more severe 20 percent cut if dry conditions persist.

Assistant General Manager for Water Steve Ritchie said the system’s total storage stands at roughly 64.5 percent of capacity, with Hetch Hetchy near full but the Water Bank substantially drawn down (about 197,000 acre-feet stored). He said the combined customer conservation goal — approximately an 8 billion gallon reduction for the year — is achievable if recent demand reductions hold through the summer.

"By getting to 10 percent this year and keeping that up, that defers the need to go to 20 percent next year," Ritchie said in his presentation. Staff showed modeling that suggests staying near current demand trends through September would put the system on track to reach the annual conservation target.

Ritchie also outlined management and infrastructure work intended to support supply reliability: rehabilitation of the Lower Cherry Aqueduct, improvements at the San Antonio Pump Station and treatment plant, ramped releases from Cherry to refill the Water Bank where feasible, and a renewed public outreach campaign that launched the week before the meeting.

Commissioners pressed staff about operational choices and regulatory risk. Ritchie told the commission the State Water Resources Control Board has issued curtailment notices to some post‑1914 water-right holders and was circulating draft emergency regulations in early July; the commission’s lawyers and staff are reviewing those documents for possible comments. Commissioners also asked whether city departments — for example Recreation & Park — should curtail irrigation and whether the city should coordinate changes in its own public landscaping to model conservation.

The meeting also highlighted program-level supply risks tied to the Water System Improvement Program (WSUP). Dan Wade, director for the revised WSUP reporting, briefed commissioners later in the meeting on a March 2014 revision that increased program cost by roughly $125 million and extended some project schedules. Wade said a major cause of the schedule and cost change was unexpected site conditions on the Calaveras Dam replacement project; staff reported a 2 year 9 month change in that project’s schedule. Separately, the Groundwater Storage and Recovery project is delayed by 24 months. Wade said those delays increase the small-but-real risk that rationing or additional emergency measures could be required if dry conditions worsen before the projects are complete.

Commissioners sought clarity on contingency assumptions and program risk methodology. Staff described a probabilistic model used to evaluate seismic delivery reliability and stressed that the current WSUP remains focused on meeting level-of-service goals while engaging other potential supply options (evaluations with Oakdale and Alameda County Water District, for example). The commission asked staff to continue reporting on schedule, contingencies and potential short-term transfer agreements.

The commission directed staff to return with more detail on emergency agreements and on the state regulatory timeline. Ritchie and other staff said they will work with the city attorney’s office and wholesale customers as those discussions progress.

Next steps: staff will monitor the State Water Resources Control Board’s draft regulations, continue outreach to city departments about meeting the 10 percent voluntary reduction, and return with updates on WSUP project schedules and any potential emergency interties or agreements.