By James Damschroder

A San Francisco Public Utilities Commission plan to divert up to an additional 35 million
gallons of water a day from the Tuolumne River has been put on hold after a recent
report urged conservation to help meet the Bay Area's growing thirst.

An environmental impact report, prepared in advance of the planned diversion,
proposes taking the current 265 million gallons a day until 2018, rather than following a
recommendation from the commission's staff in 2005 to divert up to 300 million gallons
of water a day by 2030.

There is a wrinkle in the report that could lead to diverting an extra 2 million gallons a
day in a worst-case scenario.

"It's certainly better than 25 million gallons a day," said Jessie Raeder, Tuolumne River
Trust Bay Area organizer.

But Raeder added that even the smallest fraction of extra diversion could be the "tipping
point" of the river's fragile ecosystem.

Tony Winnicker, SFPUC spokesman, said that the 2 million gallons extra would only be
tapped into if the state suffered an eight-year drought. "That's never happened," Winnicker said. "If it did, the whole state would be in bad shape."

The call for extra water from the river has rallied critics because of potential impacts on
the river's ailing ecosystem. Opponents point to the declining salmon run, which has
dropped from 18,000 salmon counted in 2000 to 212 last year, according to the
Tuolumne River Trust.

The issue even reached the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors, which voted to
"unequivocally oppose" the extra diversion.

In a letter to the SFPUC, the board wrote: "Reduced flows will harm the Tuolumne
River's trout, salmon and steelhead fisheries. The diversion would also degrade
whitewater recreation and cause economic harm to Sierra communities that depend on
seasonal recreation."

Raeder said there is not strong enough language in the new report to stop the
commission from going over the allotted 265 million gallons. The report offers
mitigations, such as improving fishery habitats, if daily diversions bypass this amount.

"They don't actually mitigate the problem of there not being enough water in the river,"
Raeder.

Still, the Tuolumne River Trust is optimistic the report is moving in the right direction.
Raeder said it gives the extra time needed to study how climate change will affect the
river's flow, and for technology to improve water conservation.

The EIR also moved forward a plan to invest $4.4 billion to improve the conveyance
system, which snakes down the Sierra Nevada from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir 167 miles
to customers of 27 water agencies in the Bay Area.

The projects include improving recycled-water facilities and century-old infrastructure
that could be crippled in a major earthquake.

"It's going to happen," Winnicker said of a major earthquake. "Nobody is disputing that."

The report needs to be improved by several San Francisco commissions before it is
adopted and the projects can begin.

"We're all interested in taking as little water as possible from the Tuolumne," Winnicker
said.