SFPUC Staff Recommendation Comes as S.F. Planning Department Releases Major Final Environmental Review of Regional Water System Improvement Program

San Francisco, CA: The General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) today recommended a proposal that will meet the future water supply demands of the SFPUC’s Bay Area retail and wholesale customers until 2018 while limiting additional water diversions from the Tuolumne River and committing the region to expanded water recycling, groundwater development and water conservation. The recommendation to the members of the SFPUC by General Manager Ed Harrington comes as the San Francisco Planning Department, after nearly three years of analysis, today issued the Final Program Environmental Impact Report (FPEIR) of the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System Improvement Program (WSIP). The much-anticipated report evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the proposed program of thirty-seven regional seismic, water quality and other projects and identifies potential mitigations to those impacts. Significantly, the FPEIR also evaluates several alternatives to meet the SFPUC service area’s projected increase in water demand between now and 2030.

"This water supply alternative balances the future health and safety of our Bay Area customers and our economy with our role as good environmental stewards of the lands and rivers entrusted to our care," said Harrington. "By partnering with our regional wholesale customers to aggressively pursue new local water recycling, groundwater and water conservation projects over the next 10 years, we can meet all the goals of this critical seismic improvement program and divert minimal additional water from the Tuolumne River."

The so-called "Phased WSIP Variant," studied by San Francisco Planning as part of this environmental analysis at the request of the SFPUC earlier this year, establishes a mid-term planning milestone – the year 2018 – when the SFPUC would re-evaluate water demands through 2030 in the context of then-current information, analysis and available water resources. Under this alternative, the SFPUC would construct and operate all proposed regional WSIP facility projects while limiting water delivery to an average annual 265 mgd from the SFPUC’s Sierra and Bay Area watersheds through 2018. The Phased WSIP Variant would not provide water supply to meet the projected 300 mgd average annual water delivery in 2030 as proposed under the original WSIP. Rather, the SFPUC would supply no more than an average annual 265 mgd from watersheds through 2018 and the SFPUC and wholesale customers would collectively develop 35 mgd in additional conservation, recycling and groundwater projects to meet demand in 2018 and beyond. Before 2018, the SFPUC would engage in a new planning process to re-evaluate water system demands and supply options, including conducting additional studies and environmental reviews necessary to address water supply needs after 2018.

The alternatives for meeting the SFPUC’s retail and wholesale customers’ projected water demand through 2030 are among the significant highlights of the report, required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). After nearly three years of thorough analysis by the San Francisco Planning Department and dozens of public meetings across Northern California, the eight-volume FPEIR includes responses to more than 1,300 individual comments about the proposed regional water system improvement program. While the SFPUC has proceeded with the design and planning of major regional projects like the Calaveras Dam Replacement, New Irvington Tunnel, Bay Division Tunnel, San Joaquin Pipeline Project and others, construction on these critical seismic and water reliability projects cannot begin until the FPEIR is certified by the Planning Commission and adopted by the members of the SFPUC. The Planning Commission and the members of the SFPUC are scheduled to consider the FPEIR and its findings in two separate special meetings on October 30, 2008.

"It’s difficult to overstate the importance of certifying and adopting this Final Program Environmental Impact Report so we can keep this incredibly important, voter-approved Water System Improvement Program moving," said Harrington. "Nothing less than the public health, safety and economic vitality of 2.4 million Bay Area customers depends on it."

The Final Program Environmental Impact Report can be downloaded and viewed at www.sfgov.org/site/planning/mea or by linking to this site from http://PEIR.sfwater.org