Water Sustainability Campaign

The Loma Prieta Chapter launched the Water Sustainability Campaign to raise member awareness of our water supply and concerns related to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)'s proposed Water System Improvement Program (WSIP). Join or effort to guide SFPUC's program and conservation policy toward a safe, reliable and affordable water supply. Water conservation and sustainability, and watershed protection and restoration are key!

The Hetch Hetchy Valley, Tuolumne River and Crystal Springs Reservoir are all connected to provide 2.4 million people living in the Bay Area with high quality water. The SFPUC, who owns and operates the system, is embarking on a $4.3 billion Water System Improvement Program to repair, replace and seismically upgrade the aging pipelines, tunnels, reservoirs and dams. This massive new water diversion project will delay urgently needed repairs to the current delivery system, cost billions of dollars and harm wildlife habitat. Water conservation and efficiency programs are more cost effective and will protect our environment.

The SFPUC has begun the environmental review process for the WSIP project and now is the time for Peninsula residents, who consume 2/3 of the water supplied by the SFPUC, to ensure that the project emphasizes habitat protection, watershed restoration and water conservation and recycling, while achieving the goal of system upgrade.

The SFPUC needs to explore alternative ways to repair the system that are environmentally superior, less costly and require less time to complete. The Sierra Club is an active partner in this planning process through the Bay Area Water Stewards (BAWS), a coalition of environmental organizations who support the upgrade but oppose any enhancements that would increase the amount of water diverted from the Tuolumne River. We also are working with BAWS to strengthen watershed protection and restoration measures in the Watershed and Environmental Improvement Program (WEIP) SFPUC is developing.

Together, let's ensure that SFPUC's programs are cost effective and environmentally sound! We need stronger water conservation and watershed programs now!

For more campaign information, and to join our efforts, please contact Mondy Lariz mondy.lariz@lomaprieta.sierraclub.org

See the Fact Sheet (updated on August 2007).

Some Web sites you might find informative:

• For information about the SFPUC Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR), please visit: sfwater.org/mto_main.cfm/MC_ID/13/MSC_ID/167/MTO_ID/374

• The Pacific Institute has released two very interesting reports:

• "The World's Water 2004-2005," available at: www.pacinst.org/press_center/the_worlds_water_2004-2005/
• "Waste Not, Want Not – Urban Usage Report," available at: www.pacinst.org/reports/urban_usage/

• The Bay Institute report, "The Bay Institute Ecological Scorecard: 2005 San Francisco Bay Index," measures conditions for the whole Bay. The report links deteriorating health of the Bay to decreased water flows from area creeks and rivers. You can find it at: www.bay.org/ecological_scorecard.htm

For more information about the Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapters efforts on behalf of our regional water system, please contact Mondy Lariz , mondy.lariz@lomaprieta.sierraclub.org