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SFPUC reports storage declines, adopts excess-use charges for large irrigation accounts
Summary
The Commission heard that Hetch Hetchy storage was about 85% and total system storage near 60%; it adopted regulations to charge twice the applicable water rate for irrigation accounts that exceed mandatory 10% reductions, with exceptions reviewed by staff and rates scheduled for Board of Supervisors consideration.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission received a drought update and approved a set of regulations and excess water‑use charges tied to mandatory conservation on Aug. 26.
Steve Ritchie, assistant general manager for water, said Hetch Hetchy reservoir is "down now to about 85%" and total system storage is about 60% of maximum. He reported that system-wide demand has fallen over the last 13 weeks and the City is on track toward a 10% reduction target, with average deliveries around 22.4 million gallons per day compared with a typical late‑summer peak near 27 million gallons per day.
As a follow-up action, the Commission voted to adopt excess water‑use charges and implementation regulations for roughly 1,600 retail potable irrigation accounts. Ritchie said the excess use charge "would be twice the applicable water rate" for water used over the mandatory 10% reduction. Staff said the new rules are responsive to the State Water Resources Control Board's July regulations and that the adopted language includes a procedural correction to timing for billing adjustments.
Exceptions to the charge can be requested by application to the Water Enterprise and will require a water‑use audit; staff will make site inspections and evaluate alternative measures (for sanitation, safety, edible plantings or equivalent conservation practices) on a case‑by‑case basis. Ritchie said staff will mail affected account holders, post notices on bills and coordinate outreach through associations such as BOMA and property managers before the rates are considered at the Board of Supervisors; the regulations are scheduled to go into effect Oct. 1 if acted on by the Board.
Public commenters and commissioners urged the PUC to consider distributed and recycling technologies, groundwater recharge and ways to pair conservation with reinvestment in local resilience. Commissioner questions asked whether the charge is permanent; staff said the Commission could rescind or revisit the policy when drought conditions change and in coordination with the State Water Board.
The adopted approach focuses on the largest irrigation users — municipal accounts (including Recreation and Park Department and Public Works) and commercial/ institutional users such as Parkmerced, Caltrans, BART, USF and San Francisco State — which together account for a small percentage of retail water use but are large, concentrated users of irrigation supply.
