San Francisco declares water scarcity emergency, asks residents to preserve
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission declared a water shortage emergency on Tuesday and urged nearly 3 million of its customers in San Francisco and three other Bay Area counties to take shorter showers and conserve water.
The commission unanimously voted to voluntarily reduce the city’s water consumption by a total of 10% compared to water consumption from July 2019 to June 2020.
This news comes after two consecutive winters of drought. The 2021-2022 rainy season got off to a wet start with two atmospheric rivers soaking the region, but the last week has been dry and no significant rain is forecast.
“With California still suffering from devastating drought and uncertainty this rainy season, we must make tough decisions to ensure our water source continues to be reliable and dependable,” Mayor London Breed said in a statement.
“Year after year, the San Franciscans strive to conserve our most precious resource, resulting in one of the lowest water usage rates in California. ” She said.
The commission provides water to residents of San Francisco and wholesale water to customers in parts of Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties. The statement calls for a 5% reduction in water use in San Francisco and 13.7% in wholesale customers. The cuts are based on fiscal year 2019-2020 levels, the commission said.
San Franciscans are among the most efficient water users in the state. SF residents use an average of 42 gallons of water per person per day, less than half the national average of about 90 gallons, the commission said. Wholesale customers consume an average of 63.4 gallons per person per day.
“We are in a drought with far-reaching consequences, and it has become clear that we all need to do more to combat it,” said SFPUC Managing Director Dennis Herrera. “The San Franciscans have done their part and have some of the lowest water usage in the state. This water scarcity declaration will help all of our customers pull together and go in the same direction.”
As part of the declaration, the Commission will introduce a “temporary drought surcharge” of 5% for water and wastewater consumers. The surcharge will come into force on April 1, 2022 and will be lifted after the declaration of emergency has expired.
Part of the declaration of emergency will also include a public awareness campaign on water conservation, which consists of media advertising in several languages and encourages customers to take measures to save water, such as
Over the summer, California Governor Gavin Newsom urged all California residents to reduce water use by 15%. According to the federal map of the US Drought Monitor, 80% of California is in extreme drought.
Bay City News contributed to this story.
