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SFPUC hearing flags multi‑million‑gallon shortfall; desalination and transfers discussed
Summary
SFPUC staff warned of a multi‑million‑gallon‑per‑day shortfall tied to regulatory flow commitments and growing demand, and outlined options — conservation, transfers and a regional brackish‑water desalination project — while wholesale customers urged a near‑term strategy to address contractual obligations.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission staff told commissioners the regional water system faces a substantial supply gap that will require a mix of conservation, transfers and new projects to close.
Assistant General Manager for Water Steve Ritchie said the system’s non‑drought level of service target is about 265 million gallons per day (MGD) and that the commission’s drought goal limits rationing to a maximum of 20% system‑wide — a system‑wide shortage equivalent to roughly 53 million gallons per day. He said regulatory in‑stream flow commitments (about 12.8 MGD combined for San Mateo Creek and Alameda Creek) and other policy choices create an average‑year shortfall currently estimated between 7.4 million and 12.8 million gallons per day, with a larger potential policy shortfall if the commission chooses to serve additional wholesale customers in future years.
Ritchie reviewed projects the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) and related efforts are pursuing: recycled‑water projects, groundwater storage and recovery, and a regional desalination option. He said the regional desalination concept — sited in East Contra Costa County in current planning discussions — would desalinate brackish rather than seawater and could produce up to several million gallons per day; development would likely take about a decade and preliminary cost estimates Ritchie cited put the desalination cost at about $1,900 per acre‑foot. He emphasized that transfers and groundwater projects could help in dry years but are slow to negotiate and implement.
Wholesale customers’ representative Art Jensen (Bosco/BOSCA) told the commission his members need planning certainty. Bosco’s presentation assumed the city will continue to meet the 184 MGD wholesale supply assurance in perpetuity but will not, under current plans, provide significantly more. Jensen said Bosco plans conservatively for a lower system yield and urged the commission to work with wholesale agencies on joint projects and agreements to reduce the region’s economic vulnerability if shortages occur.
Environmental groups raised caution about some proposed projects. Peter Drechmeyer of the Tuolumne River Trust said transfers and regional groundwater operations risk reducing flows below O’Shaughnessy Dam before the promised biological study and adaptive management plan for the Upper Tuolumne River ecosystem are completed, and asked the commission to ensure baseline studies and adaptive management are in place before flow‑reducing operations proceed.
Commissioners pressed staff for a near‑term approach. One commissioner requested a staff “talking draft” strategy within 60 days outlining options that could allow the commission to answer three WSUP questions due in 2018: whether interruptible customers should become permanent, whether to provide water above 184 MGD to wholesale customers, and whether to increase the supply assurance. Staff agreed to return with materials subject to August meeting scheduling. The commission did not vote on any of these policy changes at the meeting.
Quotes: “We have a water supply shortfall with regard to our contractual commitments,” Ritchie said. Art Jensen said members “need certainty” and described Bosco’s planning assumptions that treat 184 MGD as the planning baseline.
What’s next: Staff will prepare a strategy draft for commission consideration and follow up on questions about desalination costs, transfer negotiations and regulatory risks tied to FERC and State Water Board proceedings.
