City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Utilities
Meeting Date: June 9, 2025
Report #:2504-4515
TITLE
2025 Annual Water Supply and Demand CEQA Status Assessment -- Exempt under Water Code Section 10652.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff and the Utilities Advisory Commission (UAC) recommend City Council adopt the 2025 Annual Water Shortage Assessment Report.
BACKGROUND
Beginning in 2022, every urban water supplier in California must conduct an Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment as required by California Water Code Section 10632(a). Each urban water supplier must also submit an Annual Water Shortage Assessment Report to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) on or before July 1, as required by California Water Code Section 10632.1. The City’s Annual Water Shortage Assessment Report (Attachment A, Tables 1- 5) shows that there is no water shortage anticipated for Fiscal Year 2026.
On April 15, 2025, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), Palo Alto’s water supplier, provided Palo Alto with the Water Supply Availability Update indicating for the current water year, Hetch Hetchy watershed has experienced nearly average conditions for precipitation and snowpack. The City of Palo Alto encourages continued water conservation efforts and the City’s website contains more information about available water conservation programs.1
DUSCUSSION
To prepare the 2025 Annual Water Shortage Assessment Report, staff followed the procedures outlined in its Water Shortage Contingency Plan, contained in Section 7 of the City’s 2020 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP).2 Palo Alto’s 2025 Annual Water Shortage Assessment Report uses the DWR-developed Optional Annual Assessment Tool format. This format includes the 5 tables shown in Attachment A. Staff will submit the standard tables to DWR by July 1, 2025. “Table 1. Annual Assessment Information” (Table 1) provides required overview information. The 1 https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Utilities/Sustainability/Ways-to-Save 2 https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/1/utilities/uwmp/2020-uwmp_final-submission-to-dwr.pdf
remaining tables project water supply and demand for FY 2026 under dry conditions, as required, and finds that there is no projected water shortage.
Upon Council adoption, staff will submit the 2025 Annual Water Shortage Assessment Report to the Department of Water Resources. After Palo Alto and other urban water suppliers report to DWR on the 2025 Annual Water Shortage Assessment Reports, DWR will prepare a summary report on its review of the Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment results and provide it to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) by September 30, 2025. The DWR report will include water shortage information at the supplier level, as well as regional and statewide analysis of water conditions as required by California Water Code Section 10644 (c)(1)(B).
Potable Water
Palo Alto receives 100% of its potable water supply from the SFPUC Regional Water System and staff used the SFPUC's April 15, 2025 Water Supply Availability Update to determine water supply.
•“Table 2: Water Demands” (Table 2) provides a demand projection for each month of FY 2026;
•“Table 3: Water Supplies” (Table 3) notes that there is sufficient supply to meet Palo Alto’s demand and projects supply equal to the demand projection since there is no projected water shortage in FY 2026;
•“Table 4(P): Potable Water Shortage Assessment” (Table 4(P)) compares projected FY 2025 demand with supply and illustrates that there is no shortage projected for FY 2026; •“Table 5: Planned Water Shortage Response Actions” (Table 5) shows no triggered water shortage actions.
Palo Alto’s eight permanent water use regulations remain in effect (see Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 12.32.010).
Non-Potable Water
For non-potable recycled water, Table 2 provides the demand projection and Table 3 notes that there is sufficient supply to meet Palo Alto’s non-potable recycled water demand in FY 2026. For that reason, the supply is set to equal demand and there is no shortage of non-potable water projected in Table 4(NP), “Non Potable Water Shortage Assessment”.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact from Council approving the 2025 Annual Water Shortage Assessment Report.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The 2025 Water Supply and Demand Assessment was presented to the UAC at its May 7 meeting and was unanimously recommended for Council approval.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Adoption of the 2025 Annual Water Shortage Assessment Report is exempt from California Environmental Quality Act’s (CEQA) review pursuant to Water Code Section 10652.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: 2025 Water Supply and Demand Assessment Tables APPROVED BY:
Alan Kurotori, Director of Utilities.