SFPUC: reservoirs high but water bank low; demand at historic lows

At the June 23 meeting the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission heard a detailed drought and water-supply briefing from Steve Ritchie, Assistant General Manager for Water. Ritchie said Hetch Hetchy storage had reached roughly 95.1 percent of capacity and that the Water Bank had fallen to an estimated low of about 57,000 acre-feet (roughly 10 percent of capacity).

Ritchie said demand across the service area is "as low as it's been since 1977," attributing the trend to conservation measures and the Commission's outreach and the state-mandated reductions. He cautioned, however, that if next year resembled 1977 in dryness and the state cuts remain in place, Water Bank could be emptied and Hetch Hetchy could fall to about 200,000 acre-feet (roughly 58 percent of capacity in October), in which case stricter demand restrictions likely would be required.

Ritchie reviewed operational responses to a Hetch Hetchy disruption: the system can shift to local reservoirs (Crystal Springs, San Antonio, Calaveras, San Andreas), feed treatment plants and call on emergency interties with other agencies. He also noted ongoing coordination with wholesale customers and regional partners, and that staff will bring modeling results in July to show how extended shutdown windows might affect project selection and operations.

Public comment included Eric Brooks of the San Francisco Green Party and the Sierra Club Bay Chapter, who urged the Commission to favor conservation and local recycling over costly desalination projects; Brooks argued desalination plants are expensive to build and can be uneconomical when salinity spikes during drought. The Commission and staff said they will continue conservation messaging and coordinate on the regional front.