OUR MISSION: To provide our customers with high-quality, efficient and reliable water, power and sewer services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care.
525 Golden Gate Avenue, 13th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
T 415.554.3155
F 415.554.3161
TTY 415.554.3488
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Correspondence Log
May 19, 2023 through May 31, 2023
Date
Received From Subject
May 19, 2023 Nicole Sandkulla Support State Water Resources Control Board’s evaluation of the proposed Tuolumne
River Voluntary Agreement as a possible
amendment to the Bay-Delta Plan
May 31, 2023 Nicole Sandkulla Projected Wholesale Customer Water Purchases from the San Francisco Regional
Water System in Compliance with Section
4.05 of the 2021 Amended and Restated
Water Supply Agreement between San
Francisco and its Wholesale Customers
155 Bovet Road, Suite 650 San Mateo, CA 94402 ph 650 349 3000 fx 650 349 8395 www.bawsca.org
Statement Delivered by Nicole Sandkulla, Chief Executive Officer, to the State Water Resources Control Board in Support of its Evaluation of the Proposed Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement as a Possible Amendment to the Bay-Delta Plan to Provide Greater Water Flows and Increased Habitat to Protect Fish and a Reliable Water Supply for BAWSCA’s 1.8 Million Residents, 40,000 Businesses, and Hundreds of Communities in Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties.
May 18, 2023
Hello. My name is Nicole Sandkulla and I am the Chief Executive Officer for the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency, also known as BAWSCA. I appreciate the opportunity to provide these oral comments today.
BAWSCA supports the State Board’s evaluation of the proposed Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement, as described in the November 2022 Revised Memorandum of Understanding presented to the State Board as a possible amendment to the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan (Plan).
BAWSCA represents the 26 water agencies that purchase two-thirds of the water delivered by the San Francisco (Hetch Hetchy) Regional Water System. The BAWSCA member agencies, in turn, provide water to 1.8 million residents, 40,000 businesses, and hundreds of communities in Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties. It is important to understand that BAWSCA was created 22 years ago by the California legislature (AB 2058) to protect and assure a reliable water supply for its constituents.
BAWSCA has been engaged in the process to update the Plan and continues to support its objective.
However, BAWSCA cannot support the Plan adopted by the State Board in December 2018 due to the resulting significant negative impacts to the water customers BAWSCA represents.
The current Plan would result in a very serious loss of up to 90 million gallons of water every day during times of drought from the Regional Water System. Such water losses would result in unacceptable impacts on job growth, a slowdown in the economy, and pose health, safety and economic risks for people, businesses and communities in the BAWSCA region.
While BAWSCA opposed the 2018 adopted Plan, it has consistently supported voluntary agreements. Fortunately, the adopted Bay-Delta Plan provides a policy and legal pathway for a voluntary agreement to implement the Lower San Joaquin River flow portions of the Bay-Delta Plan.
The proposed Voluntary Agreement for the Tuolumne River could be a big step forward in providing more flows and increased habitat for fish in the Tuolumne River and ensuring a continuing reliable supply of high-quality water at a fair price for the health, safety, and economic well-being of BAWSCA's water users.
BAWSCA looks forward to the proposed Voluntary Agreement for the Tuolumne River being carefully analyzed, as a possible amendment to the Bay-Delta Plan, and implemented.
Thank you for initiating this important review and for the opportunity to address you here today.
#####
155 Bovet Road, Suite 650, San Mateo, CA 94402 ph 650 349 3000 fx 650349 8395 www.bawsca.org May 31, 2023
The Hon. Newsha Ajami, President
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
525 Golden Gate Avenue, 13th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
SUBJECT: Projected Wholesale Customer Water Purchases from the San Francisco Regional Water System in Compliance with Section 4.05 of the 2021 Amended and Restated Water Supply Agreement between San Francisco and its Wholesale Customers
Dear President Ajami,
Section 4.05 of the 2021 Amended and Restated Water Supply Agreement between the City and County of San Francisco and its Wholesale Customers (Agreement) requires the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to annually prepare a Water Supply Development Report (Report) for consideration by the Commission each December. The need to report is in effect through December 31, 2028.
The Agreement provides that the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) will provide the SFPUC with water purchase projections for the Wholesale Customers to be utilized in the Report. These projections are to be submitted by BAWSCA to the Commission by June 1 st of
each year.
Based on information provided to BAWSCA by its member agencies, the aggregate Wholesale Customer Water Purchases in FY 2027-2028 are currently projected to be 152 MGD.
The enclosed Table 1 summarizes the projected purchases from San Francisco for each Wholesale Customer in FY 2027-28. This table was prepared using data documented in the BAWSCA FY 2021-22 Annual Survey. Note that the BAWSCA FY 2021-22 Annual Survey incorporates the results of BAWSCA’s most recent demand study.
BAWSCA looks forward to working with your staff as the Report is prepared for the Commission’s consideration this coming December. If you have any questions, please contact Tom Francis, BAWSCA Water Resources Manager, at 510-944-4392 (cell).
Sincerely,
Nicole Sandkulla
Chief Executive Officer/General Manager
Enclosure:
• Table 1: Projected SFPUC Purchases by the BAWSCA Member Agencies in FY 2027-28
cc: Dennis Herrera, SFPUC General Manager
BAWSCA Board of Directors
BAWSCA Member Agency Representatives
Allison Schutte, Hanson Bridgett