Will EBMUD go all the way for water conservation?

How should EBMUD secure adequate water supplies for the decades to come? Should it emphasize conservation, recycling, or obtaining new water sources?

With climate change, a growing population, and ecological crisis in the San Francisco Bay/Delta, water-resources planning is more vital than ever. EBMUD is now preparing a new Water Supply Management Plan (WSMP) for the year 2040, to assess how to achieve environmental protection while maintaining adequate water supply.

EBMUD and the environment

Our water-use efficiency greatly affects the natural environment. EBMUD gets its water from the Mokelumne River at Pardee Reservoir. EBMUD has rights to divert up to 325 million gallons per day (mgd) of water that would otherwise flow through the lower Mokelumne and the Delta, although a settlement with the California Department of Fish and Game does require EBMUD to maintain minimum flows to support habitat restoration for chinook salmon and the habitat along the whole river. Such continued flow to the Delta from all source rivers is an important part of Delta restoration.

In 2009 EBMUD will add a new dry-year water-supply intake at Freeport on the Sacramento River, below where the American River enters the Sacramento. This is based on water rights from upstream on the American, but by taking water at Freeport, EBMUD allows the water to flow down the whole American River.

Increasing water demand

EBMUD now serves 1.3 million people in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. From 1961 to 2007, customer accounts have risen from 280,000 to nearly 380,000, but water consumption has remained relatively flat at about 210 mgd.

The likelihood of a drought is a driving factor in water supply planning. In 1977, EBMUD customers had to achieve an overall 39% reduction in water use. WSMP 2020 in 1993, however, set a maximum rationing goal of 25%.

In 2040 water demand is projected to reach 274 mgd, assuming that already-planned recycled-water projects and conservation measures will save 40 mgd. If EBMUD continues with its 25% rationing goal, and if we base our planning on a three-year drought like that of 1977 - 1979, we will need to find an additional 57 mgd. A lower rationing goal would mean even greater need for new supply.

Climate change intensifies the likelihood and effect of droughts, with increasingly irregular and unpredictable weather patterns. In addition, climate change is depleting the Sierra snowpack, causing runoff to flow earlier in the year rather than gradually over the spring.

Plans for 2040

In the coming months the EBMUD Board of Directors will be presented with an evaluation of options and will decide how much to invest over the next 30 years in three categories:

water conservation;
recycled water;
new supply.

Consultants are developing plans for varying levels of conservation projects that would save between 10 and 31 mgd of water beyond what's expected from natural turnover of appliances and technology.

Conservation and recycling

Some of the measures proposed for water conservation include surveys of appliances and equipment; rebates for efficient clothes- and dish-washers, toilets, and showerheads; pre-rinse spray valves; air-cooled ice machines; food steamers; on-demand hot-water systems; landscape surveys and ordinances; advanced metering systems; increased submetering; weather-based irrigation controllers; improved leak detection and customer notification; use of pool covers; graywater and rainwater harvesting; and financial incentives for irrigation and lawn upgrades.

There is also significant opportunity for use of recycled water, wastewater treated to a high-enough quality to be used strategically for landscape irrigation, toilets, and industrial processing. Existing and planned recycled-water projects will generate 15.5 mgd. New projects offer the potential for an additional 12.1 mgd. In evaluating water recycling we must weigh the opportunity to reuse scarce water resources against the increased energy use required for treating recycled water.

Water-transfer and reservoirs

If all the recycling projects go forward, and there is a strong commitment to water conservation, EBMUD can reach its goal by using a minimum amount of new supplies, but several large new supply options have been included in preliminary screening for the plan. These options include water transfers from agricultural water-rights holders in northern California, and expanded dams and reservoirs such as the controversial damming of Buckhorn Canyon, enlargement of Pardee Reservoir, and construction of a new dam on the Mokelumne River at Lower Bear. The plan also considers participation in a regional desalination project.

Many of the potential partners for water transfers will be experiencing the same challenges, and may not transfer water rights cheaply. Some transfers may have potential, such as agricultural transfers that do not divert water from the Delta, or a wetlands-restoration project that would be associated with water transfers in Plumas County.

Public process

At the upcoming EBMUD Board meeting on March 25, the Board will continue screening components of the plan, and narrow down the choices into portfolios that will be analyzed and evaluated. At its April 22 meeting, the Board will discuss the evaluation of the portfolios, and on June 24, the Board will decide by identifying a preferred portfolio.

EBMUD needs public input to ensure that the Water Supply Management Plan 2040 reflects a commitment to water-use efficiency, energy efficiency, and the environment.

WhatYouCanDo

Write to your EBMUD director at:

East Bay Municipal Utility District
375 11th St.
Oakland, CA 94607-4240

Lesa McIntosh
Ward 1 - Crockett, Hercules, Richmond, Rodeo, Pinole, San Pablo
lmcintos -at- ebmud.com

John Coleman
Ward 2 - Alamo, Blackhawk, Danville, Diablo, Lafayette, Pleasant Hill, San Ramon, Walnut Creek
coleman -at- ebmud.com

Katy Foulkes
Ward 3 - El Sobrante, Moraga, Orinda, Piedmont, central Oakland
kfoulkes -at- ebmud.com

Andy Katz
Ward 4 - Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, El Cerrito, Kensington, North Oakland
akatz -at- ebmud.com

Doug Linney
Ward 5 - Alameda, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, West Oakland, Oakland Airport Area
dlinney -at- ebmud.com

Bill Patterson
Ward 6 - Oakland (East Oakland and south of Park Boulevard/Fifth Avenue to San Leandro boundary)
wpatters -at- ebmud.com

Frank Mellon
Ward 7 - Castro Valley, portions of San Leandro, Hayward, San Ramon
fmellon -at- ebmud.com

Urge them to act to ensure that the Water Supply Management Plan 2040 reflects a commitment to water-use efficiency, energy efficiency, and the environment. For additional storage EBMUD should focus on groundwater storage and avoid dams and water transfers that would harm the Delta.

To work with the Sierra Club Bay Chapter on these concerns, contact conservation organizer or call (510) 848-0800, ext. 312

Andy Katz, member of the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) Board of directors and member, Sierra Club California Executive Committee