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Planning commission opens EIR hearing for SFPUC groundwater storage project
Summary
The Planning Commission opened public comment on the draft EIR for the SFPUC's Regional Groundwater Storage and Recovery Project, which would install 16 wells and store roughly 60,500 acre-feet to provide about 7.2 million gallons per day of dry‑year supply to regional partners, while staff emphasized the hearing is for EIR adequacy, not project approval.
The San Francisco Planning Commission opened a public hearing on the draft environmental impact report for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's Regional Groundwater Storage and Recovery Project, staff said. Tim Johnston, EIR coordinator for the Planning Department, and Greg Bartow, the groundwater project manager, presented the draft EIR and invited comments on the adequacy and accuracy of the environmental analysis.
The project, which is part of the PUC's Water System Improvement Program, would store about 60,500 acre‑feet of groundwater in the Southwest Side Basin and install 16 new well stations to extract roughly 7.2 million gallons per day in dry years, Greg Bartow said. "We designed this to be able to draw water continuously for 7.5 years at that rate," he said, describing the scheme to bank surface water in wet years and recover it in droughts to improve regional reliability for about 2.6 million customers served by the regional system.
Staff emphasized that the hearing was limited to comments about the draft EIR; certification and project approvals will occur later at the SFPUC after responses to comments are prepared. Commissioners asked about storage capacity and operational choices. Commissioner Antonini asked whether capacity could be expanded beyond 7.2 MGD; staff noted the draft analyzes alternatives and the EIR tiers from a programmatic WSIP EIR. Commissioners also raised concerns about potential effects on Lake Merced and the location of pumping stations; staff said a regional groundwater monitoring program and a numeric groundwater model informed the analysis.
Public comments addressed EIR adequacy and technical details; staff said verbal remarks and written comments submitted by the May 28 deadline will be responded to in the responses-to-comments document and may prompt revisions to the draft EIR. The hearing record remains open through 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 2013-05-28. The commission did not take an approval vote on the project; certification and any subsequent approvals will be handled by the SFPUC.
