In Fall 2002, the SFPUC embarked on comprehensive water demand and water supply planning studies to assess future water needs through the year 2030.  In addition to evaluating San Francisco’s future demand, the SFPUC worked closely with its 28 wholesale customers in Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties, represented by the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA), to develop water demand forecasting models specific to their service areas.  The SFPUC and its wholesale customers serve potable water to approximately 2.4 million retail water customers. 

Once water demand projections were developed, the models were used to assess water conservation potential within each SFPUC customer service area.  The SFPUC and its wholesale customers considered a list of conservation measures to develop a range of conservation programs for evaluation in their models.  The models evaluated individual measures as well as conservation programs for potential water savings and cost effectiveness in each service area.

The SFPUC documented the water demand forecasting and conservation potential evaluations in Technical Memoranda published in 2004.  The Conservation studies can be accessed to the right.  Links to additional organizations and programs are listed below:

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AWWA WATERWISER - The goal of WaterWiser is to be the premier water conservation, efficiency and demand management information resource. WaterWiser is an interactive web site that meets the informational needs of the water conservation community and the drinking water industry.

WaterWiser provides news, information, research results, discussion forums, references, calendar of events, searchable information databases, and other resources primarily targeted to water conservation professionals, but freely accessible to others in the water industry and the general public. WaterWiser is produced and maintained by the members of the Water Conservation Division of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and by the AWWA web team.


CUWCC - The California Urban Water Conservation Council was created to increase efficient water use statewide through partnerships among urban water agencies, public interest organizations, and private entities. The Council's goal is to integrate urban water conservation Best Management Practices into the planning and management of California's water resources.

Nearly 100 urban water agencies and environmental groups signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding in December 1991. Since then the Council has grown to 384 members. Those signing the MOU pledge to develop and implement fourteen comprehensive conservation Best Management Practices (BMPs).


U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - WATCON: Residential Water Conservation Techniques Software - This program shows effective ways to save water inside and outside the house. Topics include efficient toilets, showerheads, faucets; leak detection, water efficient lawn care and gardening; car washing and pool operation. Save amazing amounts of money while protecting the environment! The expert system feature allows users to calculate how much they will save by installing water efficient devices in their homes.


FLEX YOUR POWER - Flex Your Power's website is your resource for energy and water conservation information. Find incentives/rebates, technical assistance, retailers, product guides, case studies and more.


PRACTICAL PLUMBING HANDBOOK - This handbook is an excellent resource on how to repair and perform preventative maintenance on the fixtures in your home.  From clothes washers, dishwashers refrigerators...to toilets, showerheads, water softeners, water heaters, sprinkler systems and pools and spas.  The Practical Plumbing Handbook is FREE for all San Francisco Public Utilities Commission customers and is available by calling (415) 551-4730.

WATER SAVER HOME TOUR - This web site provides a virtual tour of a dedicated conservation home. You can see water saving tips room-by-room by taking the Virtual Home Tour: www.h2ouse.org/tour/ . Or see the top five actions you can take to start saving water immediately: www.h2ouse.org/action. This comprehensive web site is maintained and operated by the California Urban Conservation Council.

WATERGY SOFTWARE - U.S. Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program WATERGY is a spreadsheet model that uses water/energy relationship assumptions to analyze the potential of water savings and associated energy savings. The spreadsheet allows input of utility data (energy and water cost and consumption data for the most recent twelve months) and facility data (number and kind of water consuming/moving devices and their water consumption and/or flow rates). It then estimates direct water, direct energy, and indirect energy annual savings, as well as total cost and payback times for a number of conservation methods.