“A multicounty agency authorized to plan for and
acquire supplemental water supplies, encourage
water conservation and use of recycled water on
a regional basis.”
[BAWSCA Act,AB2058 (Papan-2002)]
BAWSCA Service Area
Every drop counts. Use Water Wisely.
BAWSCA Update for the
San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission
Nicole Sandkulla
CEO/General Manager,BAWSCA
October 24, 2022
What is BAWSCA?
(BayAreaWater Supply and Conservation Agency)
Special District formed in 2003 to
represent the interests of:
• 26 water suppliers in San Mateo,
Santa Clara, and Alameda Counties
• 1.8 million residents and over 40,000
businesses, and countless community
organizations
• All rely on the San Francisco (Hetch
Hetchy) RegionalWater System
2 BAWSCA’s 26 Member Agencies are Served by the
Regional Water System
Alameda County
• Alameda CountyWater District,Hayward
Santa Clara County
• Milpitas,MountainView,Palo Alto,Purissima HillsWD,
San Jose, Santa Clara,Sunnyvale,Stanford University
San Mateo County
• Brisbane, Burlingame, Cal Water Service Company,
Coastside CWD,Daly City,East Palo Alto,Estero
(Foster City), GuadalupeValley MID,Hillsborough,
Menlo Park, Mid-PeninsulaWD,Millbrae, North Coast
CWD,Redwood City,San Bruno,Westborough CWD
BAWSCA Board of Directors is comprised of an elected
or appointed representative from each member agency
3 BAWSCA’s Goal
4 BAWSCA’s Goal is Simple:
A Reliable Supply of High-Quality
Water at a Fair Price
Regional Water System was Conceived,Designed, Built and Operated to Serve the Region
• 1912 Freeman Report to SF Mayor and City Attorney
Title page reads “For theWater Supply of San Francisco, California and Neighboring Cities”
• BayArea communities supported the Raker Act
passed by Congress in 1913
ACWD,Burlingame, Daly City,Hayward,Menlo Park, Palo
Alto,Redwood City,and San Mateo urged Congressional
approval of Act
• Water delivered in region by RegionalWater System
since its construction
• Current relationship between SF and its Wholesale
Customers governed by the Water Supply Agreement
BAWSCAAgencies Rely on Regional Water System forTwo-
Thirds of Their TotalSupply
BAWSCA agencies
Purchase two-thirds of
the water supplied by
the RegionalWater
System
And they pay two-thirds
of the costs of the
RegionalWater System
Other Sources
39.80 mgd, 19.4%
Ground Water
17.29 mgd, 8.4%
SF RWS
Customary
Purchases
134.42 mgd, 65.5%
Surface Water
0.82 mgd, 0.4%
BAWSCA
Total Supply
205.38 mgd
SF RWS
Supplemental
Purchases
5.33 mgd, 2.6%
Recycled
7.71 mgd, 3.8%
Source: BAWSCA FY 2020-21 Annual Survey
BAWSCA’s 26 Agencies are Incredibly Diverse
16 8
2 Cities
Water
Districts
Private
16 8
2 San Mateo
County
Santa Clara
County
Alameda
County
65%
35%
More than 90%
Reliant on
RWS
Less than 90%
Reliant on
RWS
Population Served: 1.8 million people
Brisbane: 4,598 people (smallest)
ACWD: 358,246 people (largest)
Source: BAWSCA FY 2020-21 Annual Survey
24% Less Water Used Todayin BAWSCA Region Compared
to FY 1986-87 Despite a 32% Population Increase
2.00 1.80
1.60 1.40
1.20 1.00
0.80 0.60
0.40 0.20
0.000
50 100
150
200
250
300
Population (millions)
Million Gallons Per Day (mgd)
Water Demand
Drought Year Service Area Population
Source: BAWSCA FY 2020-21 Annual Survey
Residential Per Capita Has Decreased by 37% in BAWSCA
Region Since FY 1986-87
Peak:186.5 gpcd
FY 2020-21
107.3Peak:114.9 gpcd
FY 2020-21
65.8 20
0 40
100
80 60
120
180
160
140
200
Per Capita Consumption
Gross Per Capita (gpcd) Residential Per Capita (gpcd)
Source: BAWSCA FY 2020-21 Annual Survey
Dashed line indicates drought year
BAWSCAAugust 2022 TotalPotableWater Use
27% LessThan August 2013 and 6.5% LessThan August 2021
2 3
4 5
10 9
8 7
6 Jan Feb Mar Apr May
2013
Jun
2015
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
BAWSCATotalPotableWater Use
(Billion Gallons)
2021
2022
August 2022TotalPotableWater Use:
- 27% less than August 2013
- 14% less than August 2019
- 13% less than August 2020
- 6.5% less than August 2021
Find Conservation Information at www.BAWSCA.org
Example – City of Redwood City
11 BAWSCAWebsite Provides Resources Regarding Residential Greywater Programs in the Region
• www.BAWSCA.org/conserve/resources/greywater
• General information on greywater,greywater
systems, and why someone should consider a
greywater system
• A 2-page Greywater Fact Sheet
Details on greywater systems, including permitting and design requirements
Other helpful information and links to resources
12 BAWSCAWorking with Its Member Agencies to Achieve
Necessary Water Savings
• BAWSCA and its member agencies are
committed to responding to the Governor’s
and SFPUC’s call for water use reductions
• Water customers are responding to the call for
increased water conservation
• Overall water use (from all sources) down 14%
in August compared to August 2019 (base year)
• Cumulative savings not yet achieving overall
RWS target reductions
• BAWSCA working with the its member
agencies and SFPUC staff to identify further
steps and specific actions to reduce water use
in anticipation of another dry year