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Aitt@ggrinnt 6b PUBLIC WORKS SERVICES DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM Date: September 24 2010 To: Jill Ekas, Planning, Housing & Economic Development Director From: Justin Ezell, Public Works Superintendent Subject: Water Demand Projects in the New General Plan Redwood City receives 100% of its potable drinking water from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). The SFPUC has a contractual obligation to provide 12,243 acre-feet per year of potable water to the City. Potable water demand projections in the New General Plan(NGP) are anticipated to exceed SFPUC supply by an estimated 1,585 acre-feet per year by 2030; this amount is13% greater than SFPUC's contractual obligation. These assumptions are somewhat higher than those made in the City's 2005 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). The 2005. UWMP projections are based on the City's 1990 General Plan, exclusive of newly identified changes in land use patterns and designations. Water demand projections for growth under the NGP have been prepared using the same methodologies used in the 2005 UWMP (i.e. demand by customer type, including assumptions for water conservation and recycling). These new projections are inclusive of the newly identified changes in land use patterns and designations that are assumed under the NGP (i.e. growth expected within the City's water service area, to include the City limits and some portions of the Sphere of Influence). Also of note is that the growth projections prepared by the land use planners for the NGP were established to allow for a conservative analysis of the impacts of the NGP. Thus, the projections assumed significant reuse of already developed properties (up to 30% of the land area in the higher density and intensity land use designations). The potential for this much change over the plan's twenty year horizon is very unlikely, however, making these high growth assumptions was considered prudent in that it resulted in a conservative evaluation of the impacts of the plan, including elevated water demand projections. The City's 2010-2011 UWMP (currently under development) will further refine demand projection methodologies above and beyond those used for the NGP; they will encompass new regulations such as Senate Bill x 7 7 which requires the State of California as a whole to achieve a 20% reduction in per capita water use by 2020. Therefore, projected water demands as expressed in the NGP are expected to be higher and more conservative than demands as will be expressed in the 2010-2011 UWMP. Despite the conservative nature of the NGP projections, staff continues to develop strategies which account for potential shortfalls in water supply. Among these, is the Long- term Reliable Water Supply Strategy (LTRWSS) that Redwood City is working on in Page 1 of 3