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SFPUC workshop flags shrinking Sierra snowpack, suggests studying Hetch Hetchy reservoir options
Summary
At a Public Utilities Commission workshop, SFPUC staff and commissioners described risks to San Francisco's water supply from projected Sierra snowpack declines and sea-level rise and said the agency must study responses, including controversial options such as raising Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. No decision was made.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission used a public workshop to shift the conversation from whether climate change is happening to how the utility should respond to its effects on local water and wastewater services.
President Richard Sklar opened the session by saying the meeting's focus was operational: “What do we do to maintain the trust obligations we have to supply water to this city in the years ahead,” he said, framing the discussion around three impacts: reductions in Sierra snowpack, sea-level rise and more intense storms in the city.
Assistant General Manager for Water Michael O'Carlin told commissioners the Sierra snowpack acts as an annual reservoir, melting slowly from February…
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