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SFPUC details drought planning scenario as public commenters press for stronger environmental analysis
Summary
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission reviewed its drought planning scenario—based on the 1987–92 sequence—and reaffirmed conservative planning to preserve supplies; members of the public urged greater attention to environmental impacts on the Tuolumne and Bay‑Delta.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission officials on Dec. 12 laid out the agency's drought planning framework and defended a conservative 'design-drought' scenario aimed at ensuring long-term water supply for city and wholesale customers.
Steve Ritchie, assistant general manager for water, said the SFPUC's planning scenario is built on the 1987–92 drought sequence and subsequent hydrologic analyses. "We expect this to become more likely in the future as a result of climate change," Ritchie said, adding that the plan is a scenario to prepare operations for extended droughts and staged rationing.
The presentation described how storage is used to move through progressively larger rationing triggers: first-year responses are deliberately measured because most droughts do not…
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