Sierra Club Yodeler

Listening to Our Communities, Moving Toward Cleaner Water Heating sf-sarah Thu, 2026-10-29 10:34

Across the Bay Area contractors, labor, clean air advocates, and local governments have been preparing for a clean water heater transition. On November 4th, the Bay Area Air District will vote on proposed amendments to Rule 9-6 to provide exemptions for financial hardship and challenging installations, ensuring an equitable transition for all. We are ready, and the time is now!
 

By Tracy Flor Figueroa

At community events across the Bay Area, I’ve joined conversations about building electrification, decarbonization, and what cleaner water heating would mean for our homes. As an organizer, these conversations are essential to my work. They also make clear that supporting cleaner air and having questions about the transition go hand in hand.

    “How much will this cost me?” 
    “What if I have space constraints?”
    “Why am I getting such different installation estimates from contractors?”

These are practical questions from people balancing household budgets when affordability is a challenge. Along with navigating home repairs and trying to make informed decisions. They deserve clear answers and policies that recognize their circumstances.

The proposed amendments to the Bay Area District’s Rule 9-6, released October 2, offer important changes to how the region would move toward cleaner water heating. As Board members prepare to vote on November 4, three provisions deserve attention. 

Financial Flexibility for qualifying homeowners. The proposal would allow exemptions for property owners who meet specified income or housing-cost criteria. These provisions recognize that the financial burden of replacing a water heater varies by household. They would offer qualifying owners an alternative, although they would not directly fund installations or resolve differences in contractor pricing.

Options for homes with specific installation challenges. The amendments would provide one-time exemptions for certain spaces, ventilation, ceiling height, or electrical constraints. Not every small space would qualify, but these provisions acknowledge that homes differ and that some installations present substantial obstacles.

A temporary replacement when residents need hot water. With an exemption certificate, a licensed contractor could install a temporary gas water heater while arranging a permanent replacement that meets the standards. Generally, that temporary unit would need to be removed within 12 months unless another exemption allows it to remain. This would give households time to plan a permanent installation while maintaining access to hot water.

The rule does not aim to evict functioning appliances, but rather to require replacement when the appliance reaches the end of its life. The proposed dates apply to newly manufactured equipment covered by the standards; they are not deadlines to replace the working water heater already in your home. That distinction matters. Residents need accurate information about what the rule would require, when it would apply, and what options would be available. 

This transition is not starting from scratch. Community choice energy providers, contractors, local governments, and community organizations have spent years building the foundation for cleaner water heating. Through outreach, education, and preparation, that work is already underway.

A clear standard can give those efforts direction and drive effective change as the market shifts and new technologies and standards roll out. The proposed exemptions and additional preparation time can help address real barriers while preserving the goal of reducing air pollution in our homes. Continued work on affordability, reliable installation information, and accessible assistance will remain essential.

On November 4, Bay Area Air District Board members need to hear from the communities this decision will affect. Join us in person to support clean-air standards and a practical, equitable transition. You can give pubic comment or simply attend to show your support. Online participation is also welcome.

RSVP FOR THE NOVEMBER 4 AIR DISTRICT MEETING
 

The Bay Area Is Ready: Why Rule 9-6 Must Move Forward sf-liana Tue, 2026-10-20 15:59

The Bay Area has already built much of the foundation for cleaner, safer water heating. Now we must protect that progress while ensuring an affordable and practical transition.

By Tracy Flor Figueroa

Across the region, local governments, community organizations, community choice energy aggregates, and clean-energy partners have spent years preparing for a transition to cleaner air in our homes. In 2023, the Air District passed a landmark rule that would accomplish just that. This rule, known formally as Bay Area Air District Rule 9-6, limits toxic NOx pollution emitted into our homes from gas-fired water heaters. NOx is a byproduct of burning gas, and causes xx and xx, and it increases rates of childhood asthma (or something like that). Rule 9-6 targets this pollution by implementing a zero-NOx standard, which applies only to new equipment or exhisting equipment that needs to be replaced.

When homeowners learn about this rule, they often envision having to immediately install a brand new, expensive electric water heater, requiring immense investment and financial burden. But let’s clear up the confusion:

Rule 9-6 does not require removing a working heater. Most residents may not have to make the switch for years. If your water heater breaks and is unable to be repaired starting in 2028, you (as a homeowner) or your landlord will be required to replace it with a new water heater that meets the zero-NOx standard. If your old water heater continues to work without issue, you may continue to use it, and look forward to a future of having cleaner air in your home once you are ready to replace it. And, in the meantime, clean energy partners are continuing to put pedal to the metal to find ways to make clean water heating even more affordable.

At the Bay Area Air District’s Stationary Source Committee meeting on September 9, Air District staff, Senior Building Decarbonization Coordinator at SF Environment Department, Nik Kaestner, and Energy Programs Director at BayREN, Jane Elias presented progress on implementing the region’s clean appliance standards. They described programs that support consumers, coordinate agencies, streamline permits, and prepare the workforce and market for the transition.

Nik emphasized the significant progress implementation partners have made over the past six months. Although affordability and access gaps remain. The proposed amendment would move the first compliance date to January 2028. This timeline gives the regions time to continue strengthening rebates, financing, consumer education, and support for communities that could otherwise be left behind. Together, these investments are helping create a stronger market for heat pump water heaters and other zero-NOx options. Concerns about cost and grid reliability deserve thoughtful consideration. However, these challenges are reasons to invest in implementation, not reasons to delay cleaner-air protections. The foundation is already in place!

A September 27 San Francisco Chronicle article raised legitimate affordability concerns but centered its premise on whether officials have switched their own appliances. That framing is disappointing and does little to advance the important conversation about decisions that can steer the Bay Area toward a cleaner, lower-cost, and more resilient future. Officials can evaluate evidence without personally owning the technology.

The evidence deserves attention. RMI’s analysis released late September estimates that approximately 95% of modeled Bay Area single-family homes with gas water heating would lower their energy bill by switching to heat pump water heaters, with average annual savings of about $360. These projected operating savings depend on equipment and electricity-rate assumptions. SPUR’s funding analysis identifies roughly $55 million annually for heat pump incentive across the Bay Area region, alongside growing programs offering qualifying households low-cost or no-cost retrofits. Geographic gaps and complicated applications remain. Regional coordination and proposed point-of-sale assistance could help residents access support when replacements become urgent.  

Additional delays could create uncertainty and waste valuable time and resources that should be used to make the transition work for households, renters, and property owners across the region. The proposed Rule 9-6 amendments are designed to provide more time and exemptions for households and properties facing serious barriers. Unfortunately, growing public awareness has also been accompanied by misleading claims about the rules, their costs, and their effects on consumers. Advocates must respond with accurate information while continuing to push for stronger financial assistance and equitable implementation.

The Air District is expected to release the proposed amendments and draft changes that its Board will consider. Once the language becomes available, we will share an analysis of what it means for Rule 9-6 and the region's clean-air goals.

Join us in person at the November 4 Air District meeting and urge Board members to move Rule 9-6 forward with strong clean-air standards and meaningful affordability protections. Further uncertainty could slow the mark and waste momentum that should be used to close affordability gaps. Ask Air District leaders to reduce deadly air pollution. Let’s move Rule 9-6 forward and keep the Bay Area leading toward a healthier, more equitable future.

Frequently Asked Question About Rule 9-6

Does Rule 9-6 ban gas water heaters immediately?
No. It establishes future zero-NOx standards for covered new water heaters. Existing, working water heaters do not have to be removed.

When would the zero-NOx standard begin?
The adopted first compliance date is January 2027 for small water heaters. The proposed amendments would extend it to January 2028, if approved.

Does the rule apply when my water heater is replaced?
The manufacturing standard affects covered new equipment available after compliance date. If does not force replacements before an existing unit reaches the end of its life.

How would affordability and difficult installations be addressed? 
The proposed amendments include added time and targeted exemptions for qualifying low-income properties, certain high-cost installations, space constraints, emergency replacements, and other barriers.

Why does Rule 9-6 matter for health?
NOx helps form ozone and fine particulate matter. Reducing emissions from gas appliances can improve regional air quality and reduce health harms, especially in overburdened communities. 

Resources:

Watch the Stationary Source Meeting Recording

State and Regional Efforts to Advance the Equitable Transition to Clean Appliances Presentation

Read SPUR’s Funding analysis “How Much Money Is Available to Help Bay Area Homeowners Install Heat Pumps?”

Read RMI’s analysis “How Heat Pumps Reduce Energy Bills and Air Pollution in the San Francisco Bay Area”

What to Do Next:

Reduce Deadly Air Pollution in the Bay Area!

RSVP to Press Conference: Bay Area Clean Appliance Standards

Add to Calendar November Air District Meeting: Support Zero-Emission appliances
 

The SFPUC has inflated its water demand projections for years, starving fish and riparian ecosystems. The Sierra Club is fighting back. sf-liana Fri, 2026-10-09 14:02 By Mark Shahinian

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) has, for years, over-projected its water needs and used those over-projections to starve the environment of water. Today the Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter is asking a judge to put a stop to that cycle. The Sierra Club has filed a petition asking a judge to invalidate the San Francisco Public Utility Commission’s 2025 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP).

This flawed demand forecast is a big reason the SFPUC argues it can take more and more water from the Bay-Delta and rivers, even if its customers don’t end up using that water. The plan’s demand forecast is not supported by the utility’s own records, by facts, or by logic. The graph below shows the SFPUC pattern of over-projection that the Sierra Club is seeking to change:

The SFPUC uses two sets of books

When it comes to demand forecasts, the SFPUC keeps two sets of books. It has one demand forecast that shows ever-increasing demand for water. That’s the one that guides its operations and causes it to hoard water behind its dams (including Hetch Hetchy) just in case its fanciful forecasts ever materialize. This forecast means in dry years, little water flows downstream to feed the ecosystem the Tuolumne river sustains. At the same time, the SFPUC’s finance team has an entirely different forecast that it uses to predict what it will charge customers for water in the next decade. The finance forecast, presented last February, shows roughly flat water demand. 

It’s not against the law to have two different forecasts. It is against the law to have an alternative forecast that your state-mandated UWMP water demand report neither acknowledges, nor explains.

An agency does not get to choose an audience and then choose a number to match it without disclosure. The California state agencies that set future water policies, bondholders, and ratepayers read these documents.  They are all entitled to a detailed explanation in the UWMP of how and why the SFPUC uses two sets of numbers.

The assumptions run up the score

To arrive at its inflated demand forecast—SFPUC water deliveries have declined 28% in the past 25 years, but the forecast somehow arrives at a 13% increase over the next 25 years—the SFPUC has used a set of assumptions that willfully ignore facts and logic. These assumptions are not supported by evidence and push the demand model they are using to achieve the higher demand the SFPUC wants to show:
The model assumes San Francisco reaches 100 percent housing occupancy by 2030. The city has never reached 100 percent occupancy, as “vacant” includes second homes and homes up for sale or rent. Census data put occupancy near 88.5 percent in 2024, and the occupancy trend has been down, not up.

• The model assumes new multifamily units use as much water as old ones. However, the SFPUC’s own data show new multifamily units use ~25 percent less water.
• The model assumes conservation programs stop producing savings in 2030 or 2035, and so savings from conservation programs are less than 1% of water use by 2050. Yet the agency has no plan to shut those programs down.
• The model assumes water and wastewater rates never outpace inflation after the mid-2030s. Yet the agency has plans for a large capital buildout in exactly that time frame that would push up costs.

Every one of these choices pushes projected demand up. Not one pushes it down. That is not forecasting – that is using your assumptions to run up the demand numbers. The inflated numbers end up costing both the environment and ratepayers.

Who pays for the gap

Inflated demand numbers underpin the SFPUC’s argument that it cannot spare water for the San Francisco Bay Delta. They are the numbers the utility uses to starve the ecosystem of water. The SFPUC’s water planners think over-projecting demand keeps water users safe. In fact, they’re just using the environment as their buffer.

Ratepayers are also on the hook. The SFPUC is building a $400 million headquarters for its water department while customer rates climb 25 percent between 2026 and 2028. An inflated demand forecast gives planners permission to keep spending. The bill arrives as a rate increase.

What we are asking for

We are asking the court to force the SFPUC to set the plan aside and revise it. We want a demand forecast supported by facts. We want a straight explanation of how two forecasts from the same agency, published months apart, reached quite different conclusions. We have raised all of this with the Commission in writing and in person. We raised it more than once. The Commission adopted the plan anyway, so unfortunately we are left legal action as our only remaining option.

We are not asking a court to stop water deliveries or threaten San Francisco’s water supplies. We are asking for a defensible, transparent demand number so that we can all properly plan for ecosystem health and for a future of affordable water.