Six Areas Fined Nearly $100,000 for Exceeding Water Rationing Allotment

Fines totaling nearly $100,000 have been levied against six San Francisco Peninsula communities for exceeding their allotment of rationed water in July.

“Our water rationing goals are not being achieved in suburban areas,” Robert Vasconcellos, a manager of the San Francisco Water Department, said Tuesday.

The San Francisco Water Department is the largest water wholesaler in the Bay Area and supplies 2.3 million customers, most of them outside the city.

July was the first period for which penalties were assessed for heavy use of water under a rationing plan imposed because of the drought.

San Francisco is “basically achieving the conservation goals” but “a number of suburban customers are just not meeting the goals,” Vasconcellos said.

One of the biggest violators was San Bruno, which surpassed its allocation by 17.59%. It was fined $44,870.

Also fined were Milpitas, the Coastside Water District in Half Moon Bay, Brisbane, Guadalupe Valley Municipal Improvement District near the Cow Palace and the North Coast County Water District in Pacifica.