1 Moving to Water Shortage Level 2 with
Systemwide Water Use Reduction of 11%
Steven R. Ritchie
Assistant General Manager, Water
May 24, 2022
Background
• On November 23, 2021, SFPUC declared a Water Shortage Emergency at Level 1, with v
oluntary 10% systemwide water use reduction
• The emergency remains in effect until rescinded by the Commission • Since then, overall drought conditions continue to persist throughout California • On April 15, 2022, SFPUC issued its final Water Supply Availability Estimate for FY 21- 2 2, indicating:
• Despite lower-th an-normal snowpack, Hetch Hetchy reservoir is expected to fill this year, however Water Bank is not
• Therefore, water use reductions continue to be necessary 2 Background
• On March 28, 2022, the Governor issued Executive Order N-7-2 2, directing the State Water Board to adopt emergency drought regulations requiring urban water suppliers to implement Level 2 shortage response actions
• The State Water Board is considering action consistent with the Governor’s direction on
May 24, 2022
3 Proposed Action Today
• Staff recommends that the Commission approve moving to Level 2 shortage of our Wa
ter Shortage Contingency Plan in alignment with the State’s direction and increasing 10% systemwide water use reduction to 11%
• Moving from overall system use goal from 177.7 MGD to 175.7 MGD • Results in 37% Retail / 63% Wholesale Allocations from Base Year FY19-20 • 62.3 MGD Retail (reduction remains at 5% below baseline) • 110.7 MGD Wholesale (16% reduction below baseline)
• Impacts to Wholesale Agencies range from 7% to 35% reductions • Increased systemwide reduction will take effect in July 2022 4 Conservation Summary
• To achieve a systemwide 11% reduction, we need to keep systemwide demands below 2 00 MGD in the coming summer months.
• A 16% reduction to the Wholesale Allocation means reducing residential per capita a
verage from 63 GCPD down to 53 GCPD.
• San Francisco per capita demand is 42 GCPD.
5 Next Steps
• Retail Customers:
• No change; continued call for 5% reduction; 5% drought surcharge remains in effect • Wholesale Customers:
• May 25 – S FPUC Issues Tier One Allocation
• May 26 – B AWSCA Affirms Tier Two Allocation Factors under continuing shortage • May 27 – S FPUC Issues New Monthly Water Budgets with Update Tier Two Allocations • By August 15 – SFP UC Provides First Monthly Water Budget Report on July 2022 Usage Under 11% Reduction
• Continued drought outreach campaign, emphasizing reducing outdoor water use 6 DEPARTMENT
Water Enterprise
AGENDA NO.
15 MEETING DATE
May 24, 2022
APPROVAL:
COMMISSION
SECRETARY
Donna Hood
AGENDA ITEM
Public Utilities Commission
City and County of San Francisco
Adopt: Systemwide Water Shortage Level 2
Project Manager: Paula Kehoe
Public Hearing: Adopt Systemwide Water Use Reduction of 11% Associated with Shortage Level 2 of the SFPUC Water Shortage Contingency Plan
Summary of
Proposed
Commission Action:
Public hear ing, di scussion, and possible action to adopt a systemwide water use reduction of 11% compared to baseline water use during Fiscal Year 2019-2020, a systemwide reduction associated with Shortage Level 2 of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP), in alignment with State requirements . The reduction would be effective July 1, 2022. Th is systemwide reduction is a 1% increase from the existing 10% systemwide reduction that the SFPUC adopted when it declared the Water S hortage Emergency on November 23, 2021 by Resolution No. 21-0177. In accordance with the WSCP , t he SFPUC will now allocate 37 % of available water supply fro m the Regional Water System to its retail customers and 63 % to its wholesale customers, resulting in a continued retail customer water use reduction of 5% and an inc reased wholesale customer water use red uction of 16%, to collectively achieve a systemw ide water use reduction of 11%.
The Water Shortage Emergency that SFPUC de clared on November 23, 2021 remains in effect until rescinded by the Commission, based on drought conditions , state actions related to curtailments, and customer response to calls for water use reductions. While the Water Shortage Emergency is in effect, SFPUC staff may recommend further action by the Commission if drought conditions or regulatory actions persist, and the water use reduction target is not met.
Background: Current Drought Emergency and State Requirements The SFPUC declared a Water Shortage Emergency on November 23, 2021, by Resolution No. 21-0177, and has since called for a voluntary 10% systemwide water use reduct ion among its retail and wholesale customers consi stent with W ater Shortage Level 1 of its Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP), described in further detail below.
Agreement: Systemwide Water Shortage Level 2
Commission Meeting Date: May 24, 2022
The existing 10% systemwide reduction allocates 36% of the available water supply from the SFPUC’s Regional Water System (RWS) to the SFPUC’s retail customers and 64% of the available supply to its wholesale customers , resulting in a 5% retail customer water use reduction and 13.7% w holesale water use reduction , to collectively achieve a systemwide water use reduction of 10%.
In response to drought conditions persisting across the S tate of California for a third consecutive year , and following proclamations issued by Governor Newsom on April 21, 2021, May 10, 2021, July 8, 2021, and October 19, 2021, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N -7-22 on March 28, 2022, which, amon g other orde rs and provisions, directed the S tate Water Resources Control Board ( Water Board) to adopt emergency regulations re quiring “ each urban w ater supplier that has submitted a water shortage contingency plan to the Department of Water Resources to imp lement, at a minimum, shortage response actions adopted under section 10632 of the Water Code for a shortage level of up to t wenty percent (Level 2), by a date to be set by the W ater Board[.]” It is anticipated that th e Water Board will adopt the em ergency regulatio ns on May 24, 2022 and t he effective date of the emergency regulations will be June 10, 2022.
SFPUC Water Supply Availability Estimate
On April 15, 2022, the SFPUC issued its final Water Supply Availability Estimate letter for F iscal Year 2021-2022, informing its customers tha t despite lower-than-normal snowpa ck for this time of year, the SFPUC forecasts that Hetch Hetchy reservoir will fill this year, but it does not expect its Water Bank to fill. Therefore, water use reductions continue to be necessary.
SFPUC Water Shortage Contingency Plan
The Urban Water Management Planning Act (California Water Code Sections 10610 et. seq.) requires urban water suppliers to update their Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) every five years and to include in the UWMP a Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) that describes how the supplier will respond to drought, including voluntary and mandatory water rationing under multiple stages of water shortage.
The SFPUC’s current UWMP and WSCP , which are on file with the State and posted on the SFPUC’s website
, were adopted by the
Commission on June 11, 2021 (Resolution No. 21-0100). The SFPUC’s WSCP incorporates by reference the SFPUC’s existing Water Shortage Allocation Plan (WSAP), w hich is an attachment to the Water Supply Agreement b etween the City and County of San Francisco and its Wholesale Customers in Alameda County, San Mateo County, and Santa Clara County, as amended and restated on December 11, 2 018, by Resolution No. 18-
0212, with subsequent
approval by the wholesale customers. The WSAP describes the method for allocating Regional Water System supplies between t he SFPUC’s retail customers collectively, on the one hand, and the Agreement: Systemwide Water Shortage Level 2
Commission Meeting Date: May 24, 2022
SFPUC’s wholesale customers collectively, on the other , during shortages caused by drought.
The WSCP i dentifies six potential shortage levels, and the associated required level of systemwi de redu ction in water use among all customers, as well as the allo cations between retail and wholesale , consistent with the WSAP . As a starting point, Shortage Level 1 may require a systemwide reduction of 5% or less, with a 35.5% allocation the retail customers and 64.5% allocation to the wholesale customers ; Shortage Level 6 may require a sy stemwide reduction of gr eater than 50%, with a 37.5% allocation to the retail c ustomers and 62.5% allocation to the wholesale customers.
For Shortage Level 2 of the WS CP, the SFPUC may impose a systemwide reduction be tween 11% an d 15%, with 37.0% of the available water supply allocated to the retail customers and 63.0% of the available water supply allocated to the wholesale customers. Staff recommends that the SFPUC implement an 11% reduction. This level of reduction would not change the current voluntary retail customers’ reduction of 5%, but there would be an incr ease in the wholesale customers’ reduction from the current 13.7% to 16%.
Under Shortage Level 2 of the WSCP, the Commission has the option to impose a systemwide reduction of 16% to 20%, with 37.5% of the available water supply allocated to the retail customers and 62.5% allocated to the wholesale customers. Staff does not believe this greater level of reduction is warranted at this time.
Public Hearing Notice
Pursuant to San Francisco Charter Section 4.104(a)(1), a Notice of Public Hearing was posted on the SFPUC website on May 24 2022.
Description of
Action:
This item seeks Commission adoption of an increased Water Shortage Level of the WSCP and a corresponding systemwide water use reduction – moving from a 10% systemwide reduction under Shortage Level 1 of the WSCP to an 11% systemwide reduction under Shortage Level 2 of the WSCP – to align with the latest State requirements. The increased reduction in water use will take effect July 1, 2022, once the emergency regu lations of the S tate Water Res ources Cont rol B oard take effect.
The 11% systemwide w ater use reduction compared to F iscal Year 2019-20 water use results in a 5% retail customer water use reduction and a 16% wholesale customer water use reduction . T he SFPUC determined these reduction levels as described below.
Systemwide water use by the SFPUC ’s retail and wholesale customers, collectively, during F iscal Year 20 19-2020 was 197.4 million gallo ns of water per day ( mgd), w ith 65.6 mgd used by the retail customers, on the one hand, and 131.8 mgd used by the wholesale customers, on the other . A 11% systemwide reduction in Agreement: Systemwide Water Shortage Level 2
Commission Meeting Date: May 24, 2022
water use , compared to the Fiscal Year 2019 -2020 baseline year, is 175.7 mgd. The retail and wholesale allocated shares of this available supply per the WSCP and WSAP are:
• 37% Retail
• 63% Wholesale
With these allocations applied, t he wholesale customers ’ share of available water supplies is 110.7 mgd, which is roughly a 16% reduction compared to Fiscal Year 2019 -2020 u se by the wholesale customers. T he wholesale customers will allocate th is collective wholesale share among themselves and determine the actual water use reduction for each individual w holesale customer, using the “Tier 2” methodology that they have devel oped by a separate agreement among themse lves. The wholesale customers ’ collective 16% reduction will result in a range of reductions for the individual wholesale customers between 7% to 34%.
The retail customers’ allocated share of available water suppli es is
65.0 mgd. The WSAP requires that the retail customers con serve a minimum of 5% for any level of required reduction in systemwide water use during shortage . The retail customers’ 37% share of the 175.7 mgd of available supply described above results in only a 1% reduction for the retail customers. Therefore, a 5% reduction i s applied to the retail base year demand , resulting in a 62.3 mgd share for the retail customers. Per the WSAP , the SFPUC will apply the difference between the allocated share, on the one ha nd, and the resulting share after the 5% reduction, on the other, to Regional Water System storage, and this stored supply can be used in future years by all SFPUC customers, retail, or wholesale.
Result of Inaction: A delay i n adopting this Action will h inder the SFPUC ’s ab ility to effectively manage water supplies, reduce systemwide customer water use, and align with State requirements.
Schedule: The increased reduction under Shortage Level 2 of the WSCP will take effect in June 2022, once the emergency regulations of the State Water Resources Control Board take effect. The above actions will end when a subsequent Water Shortage Level is adopted or the Water Shortage Emergency is lifted by the Commission, whichever occurs sooner.
Agreement: Systemwide Water Shortage Level 2
Commission Meeting Date: May 24, 2022
Environmental
Review:
On November 23, 2021, by Resolution No. 21-0177, this Commission declared a Water Shortage Emergency. Prior to this, on November 12, 2021, t he Planning Department determined that authorization of the SFPUC General Manager to implement the SFPUC’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan in response to the emergency is statutorily exempt from environmental review in accordance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Section 21080 (b)(4) and CEQA Guidelines Section 15269(c ) ( Case Number 2021-011567ENV), which exempt specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency. The proposed action to move from implementation of Level 1 to Level 2 of the WSCP is covered by this exem ption.The exemption can be found here: https://sfpuc.sharefile.com/d- s548b88efc18140738e1f767d732a4bb5
Recommendation: SFPUC staff recommends that the Commission adopt the attached resolution.
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
City and County of San Francisco
RESOLUTION NO.
WHEREAS, The State of Cali fornia is entering a third year of intensifying drought and the Governor has issued four proclamations (April 12, May 10, Jul y 8, and October 19, 2021) and an Executive Order (N-10-21 issued on July 8, 2021) declaring a drought emergency in all of the state’s 58 counties and has called on all Californians to voluntarily reduce water use 15 percent from 2020 levels; and
WHEREAS, O n November 23, 2021, by Resolution No. 21-0177, t he San Francis co Public Utilities Commission ( SFPUC) declared a local water shortage emergency and adopted a 10% systemwide water use reduction compared to baseline water use during Fiscal Year 2019- 2020, which called for a 5% water use reduction by the SFPUC’s retail customers and 13.7% water use reduction by the SFPUC’s wholesale customers, to collectively achieve a systemwide water use redu ction of 10% , consistent with Shortage Level 1 of t he SFPUC’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP), adopted by the Commission on June 11, 2021, by Resolution No. 21- 0100, and the Water Shortage Allocation P lan (WSAP), which is Atta chment H of the Water Supply Agreement between the City a nd County of San Francisco and its Wholesale Customers in Alameda County, San Mateo County, and Santa Clara County, as a mended and restated on December 1 1, 2018, by Resolution No. 18-0212, with subsequent approval by the wholesale customers; and
WHEREAS, The Governor issued Exe cutive Or der N -7-22 on M arch 28, 2022, which included a di rective to the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) to adopt emergency regulations requir ing each urban water su pplier that has submitted a WSCP t o the California Department of Water Resources to implement, at a minimum, shortage response actions adopted under Section 10632 of the California Water Code for a shortage level of up to 20% (Shortage Level 2), by a date to be set by the Water Board; and WHEREAS, The Water Board is expected to adopt an emergency regulation on May 24, 2022 to require urban water su ppliers to implement shortage response actions associated with a water shortage level of up to 20% (Shortage Level 2), which is anticipated to take effect on June 10, 2022; and
WHEREAS, SF PUC staff recommend s implementing a 11% syst emwide water use reduction compared to the baseline of systemwide water use during Fiscal Year 2019-2020, which includes a 5% reduction in water use for the SFPUC ’s retail customers and a 16% reduction in water use f or the SFPUC’s wholesale customers, consistent with Shortage Level 2 of the WSCP and the WSAP, and in alignment with State requirements; and WHEREAS, Pursuant to San Francisco Char ter Section 4.104(a)(1), a Notice of Public Hearing was posted on the SFPUC website on May 24, 2022; and
WHEREAS, On November 23, 2021, by Resolution No. 21-0177, this Commission declared a Water Shortage Emergency and, prior to this, on November 12, 2021, t he Planning Department determined that authorization of the SFPUC G eneral Manag er to implement the SFPUC’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan in response to the emergency is statutorily exempt from environmental review in accordance with California Environmental Quality A ct (CEQA) Section 21080(b)(4) and CEQA Guidelines Section 15269(c) (Case Number 2021-011567ENV), which exempt specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergenc y, such that t he proposed action to move from implementation of Level 1 to Level 2 of the WSCP is covered by this exemption; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Commission adopts a syste mwide water use reduction of 11% consistent with Shortage Level 2 of the San Francisco Public Utilities C ommission’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan ( WSCP) and authorizes the General Manager to implement actions under Shortage Level 2 of the WSCP, effective July 1, 2022.
I hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was adopted by the Public Utilities Commission at its meeting of May 24, 2022.
Secretary, Public Utilities Commission