Water system upgrade gets OK
Tuolumne River supply off the table for now, SF says

By Bee Staff Reports and News Services

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco officials have approved a $4.4 billion plan to
upgrade and seismically retrofit the Hetch Hetchy water system but have backed off
plans to divert more water from the Tuolumne River for another decade.

The original proposal would have taken up to 25 million gallons per day from the
Tuolumne. That plan was strongly opposed by environmentalists, fishing groups and the
Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts -- which have controlling rights on the Tuolumne
that date back to the 1890s.

Environmental groups such as the Tuolumne River Trust also urged San Francisco's
Public Utilities Commission to amend its original plan.

"This is a major victory for the wild and scenic Tuolumne River," said Peter Drekmeier,
Bay Area program director for the Tuolumne River Trust. "A year ago, we faced a
proposal to divert an additional 25 million gallons of water per day from the Tuolumne --
enough to fill 1,000 swimming pools. We've come a long way."

The MID's top administrator also was pleased with Thursday's decision in San
Francisco.

"We will continue to review the plan, but are pleased that there is talk of San Francisco
exploring drawing water from resources other than the Tuolumne," said Allen Short,
general manager of the Modesto Irrigation District.

The city's planning and public utilities commission adopted an alternative to cap water
sales for at least 10 years. But the SFPUC left open the possibility that it could take an
additional 2 million gallons per day from the Tuolumne under drought conditions.
California is experiencing a drought and many Southern California water districts are
planning to ration water this summer.

"TID fully supports San Francisco's need to improve the safety and reliability of their
drinking water supply system through the seismic upgrades," said Michelle Reimers, a
TID spokeswoman. But the TID was protective of its water rights.

"San Francisco has acknowledged that they do not have rights to divert any additional
water from the Tuolumne. Additional diversions would only be possible if TID entered
into a water sales agreement with San Francisco. TID has no plans to sell any water to
the city and county of San Francisco."

New sources to be tapped

Instead of taking more water off the Tuolumne, the SFPUC will rely more heavily on
conservation measures such as using recycled water from golf courses and parks and
by tapping new groundwater sources. The Tuolumne River Trust said the plan approved
Thursday includes several amendments aimed at minimizing the need for additional
river diversions.

San Francisco officials say the massive upgrade is needed to keep the system safe in
case of a major earthquake or prolonged drought.

The plan calls for 80 individual projects, including replacing a dam at the Calaveras
Reservoir (on the border of Alameda and Santa Clara counties) that is not seismically
safe and laying more pipeline.

The Bay Area system takes water piped 150 miles from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in
Yosemite National Park to distribute to 2.5 million customers in San Francisco and its
neighboring counties.

Water from the Tuolumne also flows into Don Pedro Reservoir, where it is held for
irrigation and for urban customers. The city of Modesto gets about 40 percent of its
drinking water from Modesto Reservoir, which is supplied by the Tuolumne River.

Officials with the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts have challenged San
Francisco's proposal to divert additional water from the Tuolumne.