Committee advances Wiener ordinance to require water recycling in large new developments

Supervisor Scott Wiener told the Land Use and Transportation Committee on June 1 that his ordinance would require large new developments in San Francisco to incorporate on‑site water recycling or join district reuse systems, and would make it city policy within five years for departments to use nonpotable water for park irrigation and cleaning of public spaces. The committee voted to move the item to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation.

Wiener said the legislation would mandate on‑site water recycling for developments of roughly 250,000 square feet or more, and require an on‑site water reuse analysis by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) for developments of 40,000 square feet or larger to determine feasibility. Projects in the city’s existing reclaimed (“purple pipe”) zone that have not received building permits by Nov. 1 of the specified compliance year would be required to comply; projects outside that zone would be given an additional year, Wiener said. He also described amendments urging the SFPUC to consider sewer‑capacity fee reductions for buildings that install reuse systems and converting a major encroachment permit to a minor encroachment to ease district piping connections.

Paula Kehoe, SFPUC director of water resources, outlined the commission’s nonpotable program and operational roles: identifying alternate sources (rainwater, stormwater, foundation drainage, gray and black water), administering on‑site technology and grants, and coordinating with the Department of Public Health and Department of Building Inspection on water quality standards, monitoring and permits. Kehoe said the SFPUC currently offers grants of up to $250,000 for single‑building projects that save at least 1 million gallons of potable water per year for 10 years, and up to $500,000 for district systems that save 3 million gallons per year, and that the commission planned to return to its own commission with proposed fee adjustments in early September.

Kehoe and Wiener discussed larger infrastructure as well: the SFPUC’s West Side recycled‑water project at Oceanside Treatment Plant is moving through environmental review and is planned to go before the Planning Commission in August 2015, with construction possibly starting in 2016 and completion in late 2018. Kehoe said an East Side plant has been studied but faces space and operational constraints at the Southeast Treatment Plant and would likely come later if advanced.

Presenters and the committee cited examples of existing projects using on‑site systems, including Saint Anthony’s, the PG&E building, Pier 27, the Transbay Transit Center and 181 Fremont; Bill Worthen of Urban Fabric described the membrane bioreactor and gray‑water system at 181 Fremont and said it will save roughly 1.3 million gallons of potable water annually and received an SFPUC grant. Kehoe said the PUC is also leading a national effort to develop appropriate monitoring and water‑quality recommendations for reuse systems.

During public comment, business groups and developers urged careful cost analyses and pointed to the relatively small share of statewide water use attributable to commercial buildings, while environmental and river‑advocacy groups urged aggressive action given drought and long‑term supply risks. Speakers from the development community and environmental organizations said incentives and regulatory clarity would help reduce costs and speed adoption.

Wiener moved the technical amendments he had distributed — including the encouragement for the SFPUC to pursue fee adjustments and clarifying technical language — and asked the committee to forward the ordinance, as amended, to the full Board with a positive recommendation. The clerk recorded Wiener as a sponsor. The committee advanced the item to the Board for further consideration and final action.

The Board will receive the ordinance as a committee referral; any final compliance dates, fee changes, and monitoring standards will depend on follow‑up rulemaking by the SFPUC and standards approved by the Department of Public Health.