Cut Water Use 15%: San Francisco PUC Pushes Back

San Francisco CA

14 July, 2021

6:24 PM

Description

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — As California continues to face intense drought conditions across the region, Gov. Gavin Newsom last week in an executive order urged residents to cut their water use by 15 percent from 2020 levels. San Francisco is already on its way to meet the goal, as community members, businesses and commercial services have collectively dropped their consumption by 7 percent, according to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. But Steven Ritchie, assistant general manager for water, says reducing 2020 numbers will be especially challenging for its retail and wholesale customers as many restaurants, brick-and-mortar businesses and office buildings remained closed for the duration of the year. "We've got one big conundrum where folks who have not been in operation, and all of a sudden they're coming back in business. They're not going to be able to get their water use down from last year," Ritchie said. That doesn't mean businesses can't thrive in a water-efficient way though, Ritchie said. For example, restaurants can serve water to customers on request, or invest in eco-friendly sink nozzles for washing dishes. The main focus, however, will be on reducing consumption of water for outdoor irrigation and residential use. Since the pandemic kept a lot of families indoors, water use at home was higher in 2020 than in years prior. San Francisco residents are historically known to have some of the lowest water use in the state, averaging 42 gallons a day. The governor's executive order suggests water use of about 36 gallons a day. "Outdoor irrigation, preventing leaks, overspray... those are places where the law may get some things done," Ritchie said. "If we have to do more, it depends on if it starts to rain this fall or not." In terms of city department use, the SFPUC is already planning to expand its water recycling program for non-potable needs like irrigation and street cleaning. One major accomplishment is getting San Francisco Recreation and Parks to limit water use in the city's parks. "We've also told city departments to cut their use, and the biggest one of course, is the Recreation Park Department," Ritchie said. "They have been working hard at their usage." SFPUC also offers resources on how to limit water consumption, from onsite irrigation checkups to free replacements of old toilets. Customers are encouraged to see the list of services at www.sfpuc.org/savewater. Copyright © 2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.