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SFPUC urges 10% citywide water savings; new customer portal and rebates aim to drive behavior
Summary
SFPUC staff told commissioners the utility is pushing for a systemwide 10% water-use reduction during drought, expanding rebates, direct-install programs, and a new 'my account' portal that lets customers track daily use. The department said indoor fixture replacement (toilets) yields the best savings.
Steve Ritchie, assistant general manager for water at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, gave a status report on conservation during the ongoing drought and described programs intended to reduce demand across San Francisco and the agency's wholesale service area.
Ritchie said the mayor directed departments to reduce usage by 10% and that the SFPUC "requested voluntary 10% system wide reduction in demand." He noted in-city residential demand is already low—about 49 gallons per day per resident—but said the agency is not yet consistently hitting the 10% systemwide savings target and expects additional public education and rebate increases to help close the gap.
The PUC highlighted a suite of customer programs: large numbers of toilet and washer rebates and direct-install measures, the "Laundry to Landscape" greywater outreach (which has strong public interest but low conversion because of household plumbing constraints), and community garden irrigation meters. Ritchie said the SFPUC recently launched a "my account" web portal that allows customers to see daily water use and compare it against an efficiency benchmark.
Department of the Environment education staff described school‑based water curricula and "drink-tap" assemblies that have reached thousands of students, distributing stainless steel Hetch Hetchy bottles and classroom materials to promote tap-water consumption and stewardship.
Commissioners pressed on measurement and program targeting. One asked how individual program impacts are assessed; Ritchie replied that most impacts are measured collectively but that end‑use models can estimate savings for items such as toilets, washers and aerators. Another asked about pairing irrigation and pesticide reductions at high-use sites (golf courses) to capture joint water and toxics benefits; SFPUC staff agreed to correlate datasets.
Why it matters: the 10% target is modeled against a three‑year dry scenario and is intended to postpone more severe rationing; staff said failing to save now would likely require much deeper cuts later.
Next steps: SFPUC will continue its conservation outreach in June, increase selected rebates, pursue park irrigation upgrades with Rec and Park, and coordinate messaging with wholesale customers.
