Palo Alto officials say the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is hoarding water based on unrealistic drought projections, driving up rates and killing salmon. … Utsav Gupta, a member of the city’s Utilities Advisory Commission, raised the alarm about the SFPUC planning rates based on a drought that hasn’t happened in 1,100 years, according to tree-ring data. Other agencies like Valley Water and the East Bay Municipal Utility District plan for a repeat of the worst drought on record from 1987 to 1992, but the SFPUC uses an unprecedented and severe 8.5-year drought, Gupta said in a letter to council. The SFPUC sells water to cities and water districts throughout the Bay Area from eight reservoirs near Yosemite. Palo Alto buys about 7% of the water.

Other water rates news:

• The Colorado Sun (Denver): New homes and businesses in Denver will see major surge in water connection fees