mr. ritchie just said. east bay mud said the same thing, and what came out of that, those discussions, very extensive, long discussions with -- with the environmental communication and local government, what came out of that was a project that nobody was thinking of going on. that was the freeport project. that project is serving east bay mud today. it was working during the drought. they transferred water through that facility during the drought, so the point is with -- if folks sit down in good faith and try to collaborate in terms of water supply solutions, we may come up with ideas that aren't even on the table today. >> okay. thank you. >> thank you. >> you know, it does -- it makes me think of another question. thank you, barry, and it's for steve ritchie. you talked a little -- i don't know if you have an answer right now, but you but up there the 50 m.d.g., 10-30 years, and i understand what that's based on. you also talked about 100 m.g.d. as a number if there was an unimpaired flow mandate. >> mm-

mr. ritchie? >> congratulations on your a's. >> thank you, commissioners. steve ritchie, assistant general manager for water, and may i also extend my congratulations to the two commissioners. glad to see you back in time for the item. if i could have the slides, please. yeah. this afternoon, i'm going to give an update on where we are on the water quality control plan, particularly regarding our issues. this is something we talked about a couple of meetings ago to try to put some information together that kind of focuses on what the differences are in an understandable way for a commission level and hopefully, we're able to do that. so for the agenda for this, i'm going to start by actually talking about at the state water board adopted the water control quality, how can we makeup the water supply shortfall because that is a question that often comes up. we've made it clear we will meet our obligations to customers, whatever conditions we have to, 'cause that's our job. why does the state water board use unrestricted throw approximate, what is this approac

mr ritchie shared a good bit of detail about those experts. they have specific knowledge of the river. i personally, as well as the organization believe that knowledge is -- it is necessary. the river management plan proposal is science based. it is an alternative that strikes a responsible and sustainable balance between water supply reliability and increase the salmon populations in the river. we believe that the river management plan can be a platform for serious and responsible negotiations. i will read that sentence again. i think that's what i want you to take home today. we believe that the river management plan can be a platform for serious and responsible negotiations to reach a good settlement. finally, what i would like to say is that we do not support the board's plan. it would reduce the water supply for not just our organization but for the s.f. p.u.c. particularly when there is a better plan that exists. we believe the development of a voluntary negotiated settlement agreement is the appropriate path forward. thank you. >> presi

i want to thank mr ritchie for his presentation and to the potential cutbacks -- cutbacks we may see. if we are selling 30 or 40% less water, we will have to raise our rates. many of us in the area have great jobs. many of us will be able to absorb that expense. i have customers in the horticulture industry and customers on fixed incomes. we raised our rates two and a half% this year. we still hear from our fixed rate people. our fixed income people. i'm sorry. what will i tell them what i have to raise rates back into the double digits again? we talk about affordability is the bay area. we will drive more people out. we will have the most expensive water in the state. and then to pass litigation costs onto my customers, i can't , in good conscience, do that. i am fully in support of a negotiated settlement. i would urge you to support the recommendations of the staff. thank you, very much. >> president kwon: thank you. is there any other public comment on this item? all right. so, commissioners, do you have any comments? i want to add, mr warner said the commission's meeting is for t