Wholesale Demand and Conservation Savings
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conservation BY ELLEN R. LEVIN, WILLIAM O. MADDAUS, NICOLE M. SANDKULLA, AND HEATHER POHL FORECASTING Wholesale Demand and Conservation Savings he San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is a depart- ment of the City and County of San Francisco that provides water and wastewater services, and municipal power to the city. Under contrac- tual agreements, 28 wholesale water agencies (SFPUC wholesale cus- T tomers) in Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties also pur- chase water from the SFPUC (Figure 1). The Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) is a special district that was created to represent the interests of 26 cities and water districts and two private utilities in the three counties that purchase wholesale water from the SFPUC regional water system. INFORMATION ABOUT FUTURE WATER In all, nearly 2.4 million people rely at least partially on water supplied by the SFPUC regional water system to meet their daily water demands. DEMANDS HELPS WHOLESALE Nearly 85% of the SFPUC water supply is provided by the Tuolumne CUSTOMERS ASSESS OPTIONS River watershed via Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite National Park, 167 mi east of the San Francisco Bay Area. The remaining 15% of the SFPUC water AND DETERMINE WATER NEEDS. supply comes from Bay Area watersheds including Alameda Creek, Pilarcitos Creek, San Andreas Creek, and the San Mateo Creek watersheds via local Bay Area reservoirs (Figure 2). About 32% of SFPUC’s water supply goes to retail customers in the city; the remaining 68% is provided to wholesale customers and large retail customers outside the city. In general, the wholesale customers are located throughout the Bay Area’s different microclimates; some are in the cool coastal areas, and others are in the warmer inland areas. The wholesale customer service areas vary dramatically in size and character. Los Trancos County Water District, for example, encompasses 4.5 sq mi and serves approximately 270 residential 2006 © American Water Works Association 102 FEBRUARY 2006 | JOURNAL AWWA • 98:2 | PEER-REVIEWED | LEVIN ET AL FIGURE 1 SFPUC wholesale customer service area 1 City and County of San Francisco 2 City of Brisbane 3 City of Burlingame 4a CWS, Bear Gulch District 4b CWS, Mid-Peninsula District 4c CWS, South San Francisco District 5 Coastside County Water District 6 Daly City 7 City of East Palo Alto 8 Estero MID/Foster City 9 Guadalupe Valley MID 10 City of Hayward 11 Town of Hillsborough 12 Los Trancos County Water District 13 City of Menlo Park 14 Mid-Peninsula Water District 15 City of Millbrae 16 City of Milpitas 17 City of Mountain View 18 North Coast County Water District 19 City of Palo Alto 20 Purissima Hills Water District 21 Redwood City 22 City of San Bruno 23 City of San Jose (portion of north San Jose) 24 City of Santa Clara Source: BAWSCA 25 Skyline County Water District 26 Stanford University BAWCSA—Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency, CWS—California Water 27 City of Sunnyvale Service (company), MID—Municipal Improvement District, SFPUC—San Francisco 28 Westborough Water District Public Utilities Commission accounts. Alameda County Water future water demands, water con- wholesale customers better assess District encompasses approximately servation potential, and recycled their options for meeting future water 103 sq mi and serves 77,000 resi- water potential in its retail and needs and decide how much water dential, commercial, industrial, and wholesale customer service areas. they plan to purchase from SFPUC’s institutional accounts. In addition These studies were aimed at assist- regional water system in the future. to collectively using 68% of the ing the SFPUC in making long-term In addition, the results of these stud- SFPUC’s water supply to meet their water system–planning decisions for ies yield useful information to the total demands, many of the SFPUC’s whole- sale customers have This study is one of the largest water demand other sources of sup- forecasting and conservation evaluation projects ply, such as local groundwater or water that has been undertaken in the United States. from another local wholesale water agency. the region and at gaining a better commission in terms of the potential SFPUC is currently implementing understanding of the total demand for developing incentive programs to the Water System Improvement Pro- needs of its customers. The structure encourage further conservation and gram (WSIP), a capital improvement of SFPUC’s individual contracts with water recycling in the wholesale cus- program to increase the reliability of its wholesale customers does not pro- tomer service areas. the regional water system and reduce vide the commission the authority to The studies for forecasting future its risk of failure. WSIP includes pro- impose local water supply–planning water demands, conservation poten- jects to repair and replace existing measures or alternative water sup- tial, and recycled water potential transmission and storage facilities ply use on its wholesale customers. were completed with considerable that are critical to providing a reliable These alternative water supplies interaction among the SFPUC whole- water supply to SFPUC customers. could include using locally produced sale customers, BAWSCA, and envi- In Fall 2002, the SFPUC recycled water or implementing con- ronmental groups concerned with the embarked on a number of compre- servation measures. The results of necessity of additional water supplies hensive planning studies to assess these studies were intended to help to meet future customer demands. 2006 © American Water Works Association LEVIN ET AL | PEER-REVIEWED | 98:2 • JOURNAL AWWA | FEBRUARY 2006 103 FIGURE 2 SFPUC water system San Francisco Lake Eleanor Lake Cherry Reservoir Reservoir Pacific Hayward Ocean O‘Shaughnessy Service Area Dam Harry W. Livermore Hetch Tracy San Francisco Bay Filter Plant San Joaquinpipelines Tuolumne Hetchy River Reservoir Foothill San Andreas Tesla Tunnel Reservoir Portal Bay Division Pipelines San Antonio Numbers 1 and 2 Reservoir Pilarcitos Yosemite Crystal Springs Dam Coastal Range Reservoir National Park Tunnel Crystal Sunol Valley Springs Filter Plant Reservoir Calaveras Palo Alto Reservoir Bay Division Pipelines Numbers 3 and 4 SFPUC—San Francisco Public Utilities Commission STUDY APPROACH SUPPORTS forecasting approaches in that it uses the benefits (potential water sav- CUSTOMER DECISIONS growth in number of accounts and ings) and costs of implementing var- It was critical to SFPUC as a water a complete breakdown of water uses ious water conservation measures wholesaler that the results of this by account type (end uses) to fore- into the future. study support the wholesale cus- cast water demands. Using an end- tomer’s decisions about how much use model also allows more consid- CURRENT WATER USE water to purchase from the commis- eration of the effects of targeted AND CONSERVATION sion in the future. Similarly, the conservation measures than is pos- EFFORTS DESCRIBED SFPUC needed a greater under- sible with a per capita or land use In 2001 and 2002, SFPUC’s standing of the potential for water demand model. wholesale customers collectively pur- conservation in the wholesale service The study approach involved the chased two thirds of their water sup- area. SFPUC representatives were res- following four steps: ply needs—approximately 170 mgd olute in forecasting future water (1) Develop baseline water (BAWUA, 2002)—from the regional demands while being able to assess demand by investigating current water system to serve a residential the effects of both passive and active water use and breaking it down into population of nearly 1.7 million peo- conservation. end uses. ple in a 460-sq-mi area. The remain- Because the SFPUC was interested (2) Investigate current and past ing demands in the wholesale service in (1) incorporating the effects of water conservation activities to area were met through a combina- existing plumbing codes and current understand the effects of such activ- tion of locally developed water sup- water conservation efforts in the ities on the baseline water demand. plies, groundwater, State Water Proj- wholesale service area into its (3) Apply the end-use model to ect and Central Valley Project water, demand forecast and (2) under- forecast future water demands while and reclaimed water. standing the potential for water con- incorporating the effects of the The SFPUC wholesale customers servation, an end-use model was con- plumbing codes and past conserva- have been practicing water conser- sidered the most appropriate tool for tion practices. vation since the mid-1970s. Water developing water demand projec- (4) Incorporate water conserva- conservation is an integral part of tions. This type of model differs from tion practices into the end-use a long-term water management straight per capita or land use–based model demand forecasts to assess strategy for the wholesale customers 2006 © American Water Works Association 104 FEBRUARY 2006 | JOURNAL AWWA • 98:2 | PEER-REVIEWED | LEVIN ET AL and BAWSCA. All of the SFPUC wholesale customers implement some degree of water conservation. Measures Used to Evaluate Thirteen SFPUC wholesale cus- tomers, representing 74% of the total water purchased from the com- Service Area Conservation Potential mission by its wholesale customers, are signatories to the California Provide: Urban Water Conservation Coun- • residential water surveys cil’s (CUWCC’s) Memorandum of • residential retrofit kits to pre-1992 homes Understanding Regarding Urban • large landscape conservation audits Water Conservation in California • water budgets for large landscape areas (MOU). This MOU was developed • public information programs in 1991 among urban water agencies • commercial water audits to encourage the implementation of • home leak detection and repair program water conservation best manage- • Xeriscape education and staff training at retail garden/irrigation ment practices (BMPs). In addition, supply houses BAWSCA, also a signatory to the • free installation of restaurant spray rinse nozzles CUWCCC MOU, is committed to • free water audits to hotels/motels implementing water conservation • financial assistance to hotels for retrofits BMPs.