SFPUC Water Enterprise Environmental Stewardship Policy
FINAL
June 27, 2006

The mission of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is to serve San Francisco and its Bay Area customers with reliable, high quality, and affordable water and wastewater treatment while maximizing benefits from power operations and responsibly managing the resources—human, physical, and natural—entrusted to its care.

The purpose of the Water Enterprise Environmental Stewardship Policy is to establish long-term management direction for SFPUC-owned lands and natural resources affected by operation of the SFPUC water system within the Tuolumne River, Alameda Creek, and Peninsula watersheds. Environmental stewardship is a fundamental component of the Water Enterprise mission, and a responsibility of all Water Enterprise employees.

The SFPUC is committed to responsible natural resources management that protects and restores viable populations of native species and maintains the integrity of the ecosystems that support them for current and future generations. The SFPUC strives to become a leader in science-based and collaborative environmental stewardship in order to continue providing high-quality and reliable water supplies to San Francisco residents and SFPUC customers.

Watershed Management

The SFPUC will proactively manage the watersheds under its responsibility in a manner that maintains the integrity of the natural resources, restores habitats for native species, and enhances ecosystem function. The SFPUC believes that partnership and collaboration with agencies, communities and other stakeholders in the watersheds are the best way to maximize investment in environmental stewardship.

To the maximum extent practicable, the SFPUC will ensure that all operations of the SFPUC water system (including water diversion, storage and transport), construction and maintenance of infrastructure, land management policies and practices, purchase and sale of watershed lands, and lease agreements for watershed lands protect and restore native species and the ecosystems that support them. In cases where the SFPUC has limited control, but where impacts of its operations exist, the SFPUC will work with responsible parties to improve ecosystem health.

It is the policy of the SFPUC to operate the SFPUC water system in a manner that protects and restores native fish and wildlife downstream of SFPUC dams and water diversions, within SFPUC reservoirs, and on SFPUC watershed lands. Releases from SFPUC reservoirs will (consistent with the SFPUC mission described above, existing agreements, and applicable state and federal laws), mimic the variation of the seasonal hydrology (e.g., magnitude, timing, duration, and frequency) of their corresponding watersheds in order to sustain the aquatic and riparian ecosystems upon which these native fish and wildlife species depend.

The SFPUC will actively monitor the health of the terrestrial and aquatic habitats both under SFPUC ownership and affected by SFPUC operations in order to continually improve ecosystem health. Relevant performance measures and indicators will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of implementation efforts under this policy.

Other SFPUC Lands

Rights of way and properties in urban surroundings under SFPUC management will be managed in a manner that protects and restores habitat value where available, and encourages community participation in decisions that significantly interrupt or alter current land use in these parcels.

Public Involvement

The SFPUC believes that public engagement is key to ensuring successful environmental stewardship. To that end, SFPUC will:

• Solicit input and collaboration on its plans and implementation from all interested and affected parties, including local, state, and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and members of the public.
  
• Encourage development of recreational uses that are compatible with protection and restoration of natural resources, and water quality and water supply reliability goals.
  
• Include communities and stakeholders in monitoring, restoration and other stewardship activities to the extent possible.
  
• Provide information and reports to the public that track activities related to implementation of this policy.

Implementation Strategy

The Environmental Stewardship Policy will be integrated into SFPUC Water Enterprise planning and decision-making processes and also directly implemented through a number of efforts. Below are examples of areas for integration and specific activities that will further the goals of this policy.

• Implementation and updating of the existing Alameda and Peninsula Watershed Management Plans.
  
• Development of Habitat Conservation Plans for the Alameda and Peninsula Watersheds.
  
• Development and implementation of the Watershed and Environmental Improvement Program, which will cover the Tuolumne River, Alameda Creek, and Peninsula watersheds.
  
• Development of the Lake Merced Watershed Plan.
  
• Active participation in local forums, including coordination with Yosemite National Park Service and Stanislaus National Forest in the Tuolumne River watershed, the Tuolumne River Technical Advisory Committee, the Alameda Creek Fisheries Restoration Workgroup, the Pilarcitos Creek Restoration Workgroup, and the Lake Merced Task Force.
  
• Integration of the policy into the Water System Improvement Program and individual infrastructure projects (i.e., repair and replacement programs).
  
• Ensure that the policy guides development of project descriptions, alternatives and mitigation for all SFPUC projects during the environmental review process under CEQA and/or NEPA.
  
• Seek support for and encourage all employees to integrate environmental stewardship into daily operations through communication and training.