Nearly 3 million people in four Bay Area counties will, on the whole, be asked to reduce their water usage by 10% amid a punishing statewide drought.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission declared a water shortage emergency on Tuesday, asking customers within the service territory to use 10% less water than they did between July 2019 and June 2020. The commission provides water directly to San Franciscans and wholesale water to customers in Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
In all, the agency serves 2.7 million Bay Area residents.
"We are in a drought with far-reaching consequences, and it has become clear we all need to do even more to address it," SFPUC General Manager Dennis Herrera said Tuesday in a statement. "San Franciscans have been doing their part and have some of the lowest water usage in the state. This emergency water shortage declaration will help all of our customers pull together and move in the same direction."
The San Francisco Chronicle reported the commission will ask city residents and businesses to reduce use by 5% and request wholesale customers to cut back by 14%. The combination will amount to a 10% reduction in water usage.
City residents who don’t reduce their water usage will face a 5% surcharge on part of their bill starting next April. Customers who don’t, on average, will pay an extra $6 a month, according to the agency’s estimates.
Voluntary and mandatory water cuts have become increasingly common throughout the Bay Area in recent months. Last week, the San Jose Water Company announced the California Public Utilities Commission approved the company’s plan to mandate 15% water cuts over 2019 levels for its 1 million customers.
In October, San Francisco joined the rest of the Bay Area and all of the state in a drought emergency. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has repeatedly called for all residents to reduce water usage by 15%.
Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties were all in "exceptional" or "extreme" drought as of last week, the two driest conditions according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. About 80% of the state fell in either category, down from more than 88% in mid-August.
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