{ "schemaVersion": "1.0.0", "constitutionVersion": "1.0.0", "createdAt": "2026-08-12T00:00:00Z", "description": "Append-only Evidence Passport records. Old revisions are immutable; corrections create a new revision and preserve the previous permalink.", "entity": { "type": "project", "id": "sf-automated-water-meters", "title": "SFPUC Automated Water Meter Programme", "canonicalUrl": "https://1001smartcities.org/projects/sf-automated-water-meters/" }, "currentRevisionId": "2026-08-20-source-dates", "revisions": [ { "id": "2026-08-12-showcase-baseline", "createdAt": "2026-08-12T10:00:00Z", "effectiveAt": "2026-08-12", "changeType": "baseline", "summary": "Created the first structured Evidence Passport with 17 claims and 13 source dossiers.", "preparedBy": { "type": "automation", "label": "AI-assisted evidence preparation", "humanApproved": false }, "review": { "status": "unreviewed", "by": null, "date": null, "note": "Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither." }, "changes": [ { "operation": "add", "path": "/evidencePassport", "summary": "Added claim-level evidence mapping and source dossiers." }, { "operation": "add", "path": "/revisionHistory", "summary": "Established a permanent, hash-addressed baseline revision." } ], "snapshotHash": "sha256:e92d4e866f7293dca78c6490f78c2a9fadab004e4820241c74e09d7b7ae57593", "snapshot": { "asOf": "2026-08-12", "projectFingerprint": "sha256:b35d51f85dd2c5812f64f7e2f08300c15b080f838727422a8dbe626b2476ccb1", "assurance": { "status": "unreviewed", "scope": "evidence-passport-revision", "statement": "AI-assisted structural preparation. This revision has not been reviewed by a human or subject-matter expert.", "machineChecks": [ "schema", "publication-diff-contract", "material-project-fingerprint", "claim-text-drift", "source-reference-resolution", "complete-source-dossier", "snapshot-hash" ] }, "projectState": { "status": "live", "outcome": "ongoing", "evidenceGrade": "independent", "timeline": { "started": 2010, "ended": null } }, "governance": { "operator": "San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)", "actorTypes": [ "utility" ], "fundingModel": "utility", "fundingDescription": "SFPUC water ratepayers", "cost": "≈$50M (2010 press figure; a 2014 press account put spending at $56M)", "ownership": null, "decisionRights": null, "exitConditions": null }, "claims": [ { "id": "clm-dd43c3c411b2c9de", "field": "snippet", "text": "picked Aclara's fixed radio network in 2009", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-3a2f4d31d443496d" ], "supportNote": "WaterWorld dates the selection to November 2009: SFPUC 'has selected the Aclara RF Systems Inc. STAR Network' for its citywide AMI project, replacing manual reads taken every two months residentially.", "caveat": "Trade press relaying the vendor's parent-company announcement; no SFPUC resolution from 2009 was reachable to confirm the award date first-hand.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-b7ac55b8e0995f57", "field": "snippet", "text": "began replacing San Francisco's roughly 175,000 water meters in June 2010", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-068f65ccc40d3705" ], "supportNote": "Government Technology: the SFPUC 'on June 7 began its automated water meter program, a two-year effort' and 'started replacing its 175,000-plus water meters in June.'", "caveat": "The two-year plan slipped: the Alliance for Water Efficiency dates implementation as 'primarily occurring from 2010 to 2013', and completion was still a budget line in FY2021.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-18482db4b092703d", "field": "snippet", "text": "Transmitters now cover more than 96% of accounts", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-05d56ac19f794358" ], "supportNote": "The operator's own page: meter transmission units are 'in place for nearly all of San Francisco's 178,000 water accounts', with the network reading 'more than 96% of San Francisco's water accounts.'", "caveat": "Operator self-report; the Alliance for Water Efficiency separately states over 99% of ~180,000 retail connections are on the AMI system — a different measure (installed vs. read).", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-bb1afc5f7cb1c29e", "field": "snippet", "text": "sending hourly readings to 81 collectors", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-05d56ac19f794358" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC: the MTU collects a reading each hour and transmits 'every six hours'; 'A total of 81 Data Collectors are located throughout the city.'", "caveat": "Readings are taken hourly but transmitted in six-hour batches — the page says each transmission lasts under a tenth of a second.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-73127f16c6fc714d", "field": "snippet", "text": "a courtesy leak alert flags 48 hours of constant flow", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-a77ce079bd7d6b86" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC describes a 'courtesy Leak Alert Program' that alerts small accounts after '48 hours of continuous water use of 7.5 gallons an hour or more'; no sign-up is needed.", "caveat": "The 48-hour residential threshold dates from November 2021 — before that it was 72 hours (Alliance for Water Efficiency); commercial accounts still use 72 hours plus night-use screens.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-e728af0bf02ba69f", "field": "snippet", "text": "Ageing transmitters have since left thousands unbilled", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-08dc890a504c86b0", "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC's own FAQ: 'a technical problem led to some customers not receiving a water and sewer bill for several months', caused by transponders no longer sending data to billing; KTVU counts about 8,200 residents affected.", "caveat": "SFPUC has published no customer count of its own; 8,200 is the figure the utility gave to television press.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-30d6a16775d4780f", "field": "impact", "text": "cut mean leak volume per meter by a statistically significant margin for single-family homes", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Three of the four single-family notification programs resulted in statistically significant reductions in mean leak volume per meter' — only SSWD's did not, so SFPUC's is among the significant three (its estimate: 0.63 gallons per meter per day).", "caveat": "Pre/post comparison with a nine-month pre-period, no control group; SFPUC part-funded its own case-study participation.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-35b19c7ef69f5ded", "field": "impact", "text": "by 18% for multi-family buildings", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'the SFPUC's registered an 18 percent reduction' in mean leak volume per multi-family meter, one of two of three multi-family programmes with statistically significant results.", "caveat": "Same design limits: pre/post, no control group, co-funded case study.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-060bdddbaff03bc6", "field": "impact", "text": "by 51% on non-municipal irrigation meters", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Leak notifications to non-municipal dedicated irrigation meters resulted in a statistically significant 51 percent reduction in mean leak volume per meter.' SFPUC is the only study participant with such a programme.", "caveat": "Same design limits as the other AWE results.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-9518e21f7be4da53", "field": "impact", "text": "alerts to the city's own municipal meters, still handled manually at the time, showed no significant effect", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Notifications to municipal meters did not result in a statistically significant difference in leak volume' — the non-municipal side had 'a fully automated process' while municipal notification was 'manual and depends on the availability of water department staff.' SFPUC has since automated it.", "caveat": "The report offers the manual process as the likely explanation, not a proven cause.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-c5756bfa2ff2df74", "field": "impact", "text": "SFPUC itself estimated 47 million gallons saved in the fiscal year before August 2021", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-926fe954f024ded3" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC news release: 'In the last fiscal year, the Leak Alert program saved SFPUC customers an estimated 47 million gallons of water.'", "caveat": "Operator self-report with no published methodology; kept separate from the AWE figures, which come from an outside analysis.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-8ca4743dd6d51d2d", "field": "impact", "text": "77% of notified customers had not known they had a leak", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE, reporting SFPUC's automated post-alert surveys (n=2,138, running since August 2020): '77 percent were not aware of the usage until they received the notice.' 54% traced it to leaky toilets; 45% fixed it themselves.", "caveat": "Survey data collected by the operator and relayed by AWE; voluntary responses, so self-selection is possible.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-f69a46cb398ca6c4", "field": "lesson", "text": "The vendor's data sheet promised a 20-year battery", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-4e4219ba1d9b4c34" ], "supportNote": "The era-correct 2008 Aclara STAR Water MTU specification sheet: 'Contains a 20-year permanent battery.'", "caveat": "Vendor claim, cited as the promise the failure is measured against. SFPUC itself never publicly names battery end-of-life as the cause — its FAQ says only 'aging automated metering equipment'; the juxtaposition is ours.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-3267d66073270131", "field": "lesson", "text": "schedules replacement of the system by the end of its 20-year useful life in 2031", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-079a5e52f9345467" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC's 10-Year Capital Plan: $40.2 million for 'meter renewal, replacement, automation, and replacement planning for the entire AWMP System by the end of its 20-year useful life (ending in 2031).'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-d24450b2fa17c9ea", "field": "lesson", "text": "by September 2024 about 8,200 customers had gone months, some more than a year, without a bill", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b", "src-45982861eb30666b" ], "supportNote": "KTVU: about 8,200 residents affected, 'some customers went three months without bills; others… a year or more.' 48hills broke the story five days earlier with 'Some 8,000 households… haven't received a water bill in months.'", "caveat": "Both counts come from SFPUC statements to press; the utility has published no number of its own.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-46dd1a498ff91f72", "field": "lesson", "text": "the utility could not keep up with repairing its ageing transmitters", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-08dc890a504c86b0" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC's own admission: 'Staffing and equipment shortages left us unable to keep up with repairing our aging automated metering equipment. The situation was exacerbated by supply chain delays.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-0b04a6c6fccab9d2", "field": "lesson", "text": "remain a courtesy with nothing enforced behind them", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-a77ce079bd7d6b86" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC itself calls it a 'courtesy Leak Alert Program'; the page describes notifications only — no fine, no shut-off, no obligation follows an alert.", "caveat": "The absence of enforcement is our reading of the programme description; no source states it as a design decision.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } } ], "sources": [ { "id": "src-05d56ac19f794358", "title": "SFPUC — About Your Water Meter (authority)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/accounts-services/about-your-bill/about-your-water-meter", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-18482db4b092703d", "clm-bb1afc5f7cb1c29e" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The operator's own description of the system. Supports: 'Meter transmission units are now in place for nearly all of San Francisco's 178,000 water accounts'; the Aclara Fixed Network AMI STAR System reading 'more than 96% of San Francisco's water accounts'; the MTU collecting a reading each hour and sending to a collector 'Every six hours'; 'A total of 81 Data Collectors are located throughout the city'; and the My Account data going live in Spring 2014 with downloadable daily and monthly reports.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-a77ce079bd7d6b86", "title": "SFPUC — Leak Alerts: Find and Fix Leaks (authority)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/conserve-water/leak-alerts-find-and-fix-leaks", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-73127f16c6fc714d", "clm-0b04a6c6fccab9d2" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Currency check and the mechanics. A 'courtesy Leak Alert Program' that 'reviews hourly water use for all meters that transmit data to us electronically', with no sign-up needed; alerts after '48 hours of continuous water use of 7.5 gallons an hour or more' at small accounts, and on overnight use 100% or 300% above the 90-day average at large ones. Gives the current operating figure: 'over 170,000 meters serving 165,000-plus customers'. Confirms My Account is the live customer portal in 2026.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-926fe954f024ded3", "title": "SFPUC — Announces Expansion of Leak Alert Program (12 August 2021)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/about-us/news/sfpuc-announces-expansion-leak-alert-program", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-c5756bfa2ff2df74" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2021-08-12", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The only quantified result found, and it is self-reported: 'In the last fiscal year, the Leak Alert program saved SFPUC customers an estimated 47 million gallons of water.' Also dates the extension of alerts beyond homes to 'commercial and industrial properties and larger multi-family buildings', and gives the commercial thresholds (increases of 50 percent or more in use over 90 days, plus nightly spikes).", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-068f65ccc40d3705", "title": "Government Technology — San Francisco Water Meters to Detect Leaks, Help Customers Track Usage (26 July 2010)", "url": "https://www.govtech.com/dc/articles/San-Francisco-Water-Meters-to-Detect.html", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "govtech.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-b7ac55b8e0995f57" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2010-07-26", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Anchors the start and the money: the SFPUC 'on June 7 began its automated water meter program, a two-year effort'; 'San Francisco started replacing its 175,000-plus water meters in June'; and 'The $50 million program is being funded by a 91-cent fee that's being tacked onto ratepayers' monthly bills.' The cost and the funding mechanism rest on this press account only — no SFPUC or Controller cost document was reachable. Also records that the online-viewing component was expected to lag the installation, which it did by four years.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-3a2f4d31d443496d", "title": "WaterWorld — San Francisco chooses Aclara AMI system to track water consumption (24 November 2009)", "url": "https://www.waterworld.com/technologies/amr-ami/article/16217202/san-francisco-chooses-aclara-ami-system-to-track-water-consumption", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "waterworld.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-dd43c3c411b2c9de" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2009-11-24", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Dates the vendor selection to November 2009 and describes the STAR Network: low-frequency radio, hourly readings sent four times a day, replacing manual reads taken every two months residentially. Carries the claim that SFPUC 'will be the first major California water utility to install Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) technology to track water consumption' — a vendor-announcement claim in trade press, deliberately not used in the entry.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-08dc890a504c86b0", "title": "SFPUC — Delayed Water and Sewer Bills, Frequently Asked Questions (authority)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/accounts-services/account-services/delayed-water-and-sewer-bills-frequently-asked-questions", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-e728af0bf02ba69f", "clm-46dd1a498ff91f72" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The utility's own account of the failure. 'A technical problem led to some customers not receiving a water and sewer bill for several months. The problem was caused by certain transponders on water meters' — the meters read correctly but 'the transponders were not sending that data electronically to our billing system.' The admission: 'Staffing and equipment shortages left us unable to keep up with repairing our aging automated metering equipment. The situation was exacerbated by supply chain delays.' Also states SFPUC is 'in the process of evaluating and upgrading our meter transponder system', which is the only evidence of a second generation — no contract, count or schedule is given.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b", "title": "KTVU FOX 2 — Unexpected water bills to hit thousands of San Francisco mailboxes (24 September 2024)", "url": "https://www.ktvu.com/news/unexpected-water-bills-hit-thousands-san-francisco-mailboxes", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "ktvu.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-e728af0bf02ba69f", "clm-d24450b2fa17c9ea" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2024-09-24", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Scales the billing failure: about 8,200 residents affected, some three months without a bill and others a year or more, with SFPUC saying customers are not charged for the repair but remain liable for the service received. Press account; SFPUC has not published a customer count of its own.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-32de3bffb656d438", "title": "Alliance for Water Efficiency — Smart Practices to Save Water: An Evaluation of AMI-enabled Proactive Leak Notification Programs (March 2023)", "url": "https://allianceforwaterefficiency.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/An-Evaluation-of-AMI-Enabled-Proactive-Leak-Notification-Programs.pdf", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "allianceforwaterefficiency.org", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "pdf", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-30d6a16775d4780f", "clm-35b19c7ef69f5ded", "clm-060bdddbaff03bc6", "clm-9518e21f7be4da53", "clm-8ca4743dd6d51d2d" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The evaluation that carries this entry's grade — the only outside statistical assessment of the programme. Dates the rollout ('implementation primarily occurring from 2010 to 2013', 'Over 99 percent of its approximately 180,000 retail service connections'), the portal (2014; 'about 53 percent of SFPUC's customers were registered' by spring 2022), the postcard pilot (2015) and the automated programme (2017). Results: SFPUC's single-family programme is one of 'three of the four' with statistically significant reductions; multi-family 'registered an 18 percent reduction'; non-municipal irrigation meters 'a statistically significant 51 percent reduction'; 'Notifications to municipal meters did not result in a statistically significant difference.' Survey (n=2,138): '77 percent were not aware of the usage until they received the notice.' Disclosed limits: pre/post comparison with a nine-month pre-period, no control group, and SFPUC is one of four utility partners that 'provided funding to serve as case studies' — the reason this grades independent, not peer-reviewed.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-079a5e52f9345467", "title": "SFPUC — 10-Year Capital Plan FY 2023-24 – FY 2032-33 (authority)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/sites/default/files/about-us/policies-reports/10yrCapBudget_FY2023-24_FY2032-33.pdf", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "pdf", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-3267d66073270131" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The utility's own replacement arithmetic: 'Local Water – Automated Meter Reading System: $40.2 million. This program provides funding for the ongoing Automated Water Meter Program (AWMP) including meter renewal, replacement, automation, and replacement planning for the entire AWMP System by the end of its 20-year useful life (ending in 2031).' The transmitters started failing at scale seven years before that end date. An earlier scenario line ('AWMP Completion (FY21)') also shows final installation was still a budget item in FY2021.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-4e4219ba1d9b4c34", "title": "Aclara — STAR Network Water MTU specification sheet (©2008, vendor)", "url": "https://hocutt.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/STAR_WaterMTU.pdf", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "hocutt.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "pdf", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-f69a46cb398ca6c4" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Vendor material, used deliberately as the claim the failure is measured against, not as support: 'Contains a 20-year permanent battery.' Also documents the design that made the battery last: 'STAR Network MTUs are capable of one- or two-way communications' but transmit on a timer 'over FCC-licensed, 450- to 470-MHz radio frequencies' — in San Francisco the deployment operates transmit-only, per SFPUC's own description of six-hourly sub-second bursts. Mirrored on a distributor site; the vendor's original page is gone.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-45982861eb30666b", "title": "48hills — Thousands of SF residents about to get a huge backdated water bill (19 September 2024)", "url": "https://48hills.org/2024/09/thousands-of-sf-residents-about-to-get-a-huge-backdated-water-bill/", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "48hills.org", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-d24450b2fa17c9ea" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2024-09-19", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The report that broke the billing story, five days before the TV coverage: 'Some 8,000 households in San Francisco haven't received a water bill in months.' Scales the hardship — at typical bills of roughly $50/month for an apartment and $140/month for a single-family home, 'ten months without a bill could mean a sudden payment of more than $1,000' — and carries the general manager's response that SFPUC 'plans on accommodating' hardship cases via payment plans and the 25-40% low-income discount.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-aad1e0fd7076a98b", "title": "Municipal Sewer & Water Magazine — Leading the Fight Against Non-Revenue Water (24 August 2015)", "url": "https://www.mswmag.com/online_exclusives/2015/08/leading_the_fight_against_non_revenue_water", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "mswmag.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "background", "claimRefs": [], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2015-08-24", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Trade press quoting the programme's manager mid-drought, when the alerts were still weekly postcards: 'The Aclara report tells us which accounts have exhibited continuous usage every hour over a three-day reporting period each week' and 'The utility reaches out to those who show up on the report by sending weekly postcards.' Frames the drought context: utilities scrambling 'to meet government mandates for a statewide 25 percent reduction in water usage.'", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-8e38aaa134894c7d", "title": "Rupiper et al. — AMI water meters deliver end-use water and financial savings in leaky households (Environmental Research Letters, September 2024)", "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad7bce", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "iopscience.iop.org", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "background", "claimRefs": [], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Context only — this randomized controlled trial ran at East Bay Municipal Utility District across the bay, not at SFPUC, and must never be read as evidence for this entry. It is cited because it is the nearest peer-reviewed test of the same mechanism: '92.8% of the estimated water conservation is attributable to leak detection and repair.' It shows what the gold-standard evaluation SFPUC has never had would look like.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } } ], "coverage": { "claimsTotal": 17, "claimsMapped": 17, "sourcesTotal": 13, "sourcesUsedByClaims": 11, "sourcesWithPublicationDate": 6, "sourcesWithArchive": 0, "sourcesWithExactLocator": 0, "sourcesWithContentHash": 0 }, "limits": [ "Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.", "Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.", "A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.", "The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim." ] } }, { "id": "2026-08-12-story-xray-claims", "createdAt": "2026-08-12T13:00:00Z", "effectiveAt": "2026-08-12", "changeType": "update", "summary": "Extended the claim ledger from 17 to 43: the long-form story page is now claim-anchored throughout (26 story-field claims), so expert mode can mark nearly every factual passage in the article.", "preparedBy": { "type": "automation", "label": "AI-assisted evidence preparation", "humanApproved": false }, "review": { "status": "unreviewed", "by": null, "date": null, "note": "Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither." }, "changes": [ { "operation": "replace", "path": "/snapshot/claims", "summary": "Updated claims to the current sourced project record." }, { "operation": "replace", "path": "/snapshot/sources", "summary": "Updated sources to the current sourced project record." } ], "snapshotHash": "sha256:362e28211c013390af991e3d888508bd42fdb39e5459bdc870d7d031a2b937d5", "snapshot": { "asOf": "2026-08-12", "projectFingerprint": "sha256:b35d51f85dd2c5812f64f7e2f08300c15b080f838727422a8dbe626b2476ccb1", "assurance": { "status": "unreviewed", "scope": "evidence-passport-revision", "statement": "AI-assisted structural preparation. This revision has not been reviewed by a human or subject-matter expert.", "machineChecks": [ "schema", "publication-diff-contract", "material-project-fingerprint", "claim-text-drift", "source-reference-resolution", "complete-source-dossier", "snapshot-hash" ] }, "projectState": { "status": "live", "outcome": "ongoing", "evidenceGrade": "independent", "timeline": { "started": 2010, "ended": null } }, "governance": { "operator": "San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)", "actorTypes": [ "utility" ], "fundingModel": "utility", "fundingDescription": "SFPUC water ratepayers", "cost": "≈$50M (2010 press figure; a 2014 press account put spending at $56M)", "ownership": null, "decisionRights": null, "exitConditions": null }, "claims": [ { "id": "clm-dd43c3c411b2c9de", "field": "snippet", "text": "picked Aclara's fixed radio network in 2009", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-3a2f4d31d443496d" ], "supportNote": "WaterWorld dates the selection to November 2009: SFPUC 'has selected the Aclara RF Systems Inc. STAR Network' for its citywide AMI project, replacing manual reads taken every two months residentially.", "caveat": "Trade press relaying the vendor's parent-company announcement; no SFPUC resolution from 2009 was reachable to confirm the award date first-hand.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-b7ac55b8e0995f57", "field": "snippet", "text": "began replacing San Francisco's roughly 175,000 water meters in June 2010", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-068f65ccc40d3705" ], "supportNote": "Government Technology: the SFPUC 'on June 7 began its automated water meter program, a two-year effort' and 'started replacing its 175,000-plus water meters in June.'", "caveat": "The two-year plan slipped: the Alliance for Water Efficiency dates implementation as 'primarily occurring from 2010 to 2013', and completion was still a budget line in FY2021.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-18482db4b092703d", "field": "snippet", "text": "Transmitters now cover more than 96% of accounts", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-05d56ac19f794358" ], "supportNote": "The operator's own page: meter transmission units are 'in place for nearly all of San Francisco's 178,000 water accounts', with the network reading 'more than 96% of San Francisco's water accounts.'", "caveat": "Operator self-report; the Alliance for Water Efficiency separately states over 99% of ~180,000 retail connections are on the AMI system — a different measure (installed vs. read).", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-bb1afc5f7cb1c29e", "field": "snippet", "text": "sending hourly readings to 81 collectors", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-05d56ac19f794358" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC: the MTU collects a reading each hour and transmits 'every six hours'; 'A total of 81 Data Collectors are located throughout the city.'", "caveat": "Readings are taken hourly but transmitted in six-hour batches — the page says each transmission lasts under a tenth of a second.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-73127f16c6fc714d", "field": "snippet", "text": "a courtesy leak alert flags 48 hours of constant flow", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-a77ce079bd7d6b86" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC describes a 'courtesy Leak Alert Program' that alerts small accounts after '48 hours of continuous water use of 7.5 gallons an hour or more'; no sign-up is needed.", "caveat": "The 48-hour residential threshold dates from November 2021 — before that it was 72 hours (Alliance for Water Efficiency); commercial accounts still use 72 hours plus night-use screens.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-e728af0bf02ba69f", "field": "snippet", "text": "Ageing transmitters have since left thousands unbilled", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-08dc890a504c86b0", "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC's own FAQ: 'a technical problem led to some customers not receiving a water and sewer bill for several months', caused by transponders no longer sending data to billing; KTVU counts about 8,200 residents affected.", "caveat": "SFPUC has published no customer count of its own; 8,200 is the figure the utility gave to television press.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-30d6a16775d4780f", "field": "impact", "text": "cut mean leak volume per meter by a statistically significant margin for single-family homes", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Three of the four single-family notification programs resulted in statistically significant reductions in mean leak volume per meter' — only SSWD's did not, so SFPUC's is among the significant three (its estimate: 0.63 gallons per meter per day).", "caveat": "Pre/post comparison with a nine-month pre-period, no control group; SFPUC part-funded its own case-study participation.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-35b19c7ef69f5ded", "field": "impact", "text": "by 18% for multi-family buildings", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'the SFPUC's registered an 18 percent reduction' in mean leak volume per multi-family meter, one of two of three multi-family programmes with statistically significant results.", "caveat": "Same design limits: pre/post, no control group, co-funded case study.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-060bdddbaff03bc6", "field": "impact", "text": "by 51% on non-municipal irrigation meters", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Leak notifications to non-municipal dedicated irrigation meters resulted in a statistically significant 51 percent reduction in mean leak volume per meter.' SFPUC is the only study participant with such a programme.", "caveat": "Same design limits as the other AWE results.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-9518e21f7be4da53", "field": "impact", "text": "alerts to the city's own municipal meters, still handled manually at the time, showed no significant effect", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Notifications to municipal meters did not result in a statistically significant difference in leak volume' — the non-municipal side had 'a fully automated process' while municipal notification was 'manual and depends on the availability of water department staff.' SFPUC has since automated it.", "caveat": "The report offers the manual process as the likely explanation, not a proven cause.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-c5756bfa2ff2df74", "field": "impact", "text": "SFPUC itself estimated 47 million gallons saved in the fiscal year before August 2021", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-926fe954f024ded3" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC news release: 'In the last fiscal year, the Leak Alert program saved SFPUC customers an estimated 47 million gallons of water.'", "caveat": "Operator self-report with no published methodology; kept separate from the AWE figures, which come from an outside analysis.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-8ca4743dd6d51d2d", "field": "impact", "text": "77% of notified customers had not known they had a leak", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE, reporting SFPUC's automated post-alert surveys (n=2,138, running since August 2020): '77 percent were not aware of the usage until they received the notice.' 54% traced it to leaky toilets; 45% fixed it themselves.", "caveat": "Survey data collected by the operator and relayed by AWE; voluntary responses, so self-selection is possible.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-f69a46cb398ca6c4", "field": "lesson", "text": "The vendor's data sheet promised a 20-year battery", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-4e4219ba1d9b4c34" ], "supportNote": "The era-correct 2008 Aclara STAR Water MTU specification sheet: 'Contains a 20-year permanent battery.'", "caveat": "Vendor claim, cited as the promise the failure is measured against. SFPUC itself never publicly names battery end-of-life as the cause — its FAQ says only 'aging automated metering equipment'; the juxtaposition is ours.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-3267d66073270131", "field": "lesson", "text": "schedules replacement of the system by the end of its 20-year useful life in 2031", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-079a5e52f9345467" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC's 10-Year Capital Plan: $40.2 million for 'meter renewal, replacement, automation, and replacement planning for the entire AWMP System by the end of its 20-year useful life (ending in 2031).'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-d24450b2fa17c9ea", "field": "lesson", "text": "by September 2024 about 8,200 customers had gone months, some more than a year, without a bill", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b", "src-45982861eb30666b" ], "supportNote": "KTVU: about 8,200 residents affected, 'some customers went three months without bills; others… a year or more.' 48hills broke the story five days earlier with 'Some 8,000 households… haven't received a water bill in months.'", "caveat": "Both counts come from SFPUC statements to press; the utility has published no number of its own.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-46dd1a498ff91f72", "field": "lesson", "text": "the utility could not keep up with repairing its ageing transmitters", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-08dc890a504c86b0" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC's own admission: 'Staffing and equipment shortages left us unable to keep up with repairing our aging automated metering equipment. The situation was exacerbated by supply chain delays.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-0b04a6c6fccab9d2", "field": "lesson", "text": "remain a courtesy with nothing enforced behind them", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-a77ce079bd7d6b86" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC itself calls it a 'courtesy Leak Alert Program'; the page describes notifications only — no fine, no shut-off, no obligation follows an alert.", "caveat": "The absence of enforcement is our reading of the programme description; no source states it as a design decision.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-ac80ae8f692e2e2f", "field": "body", "text": "by September 2024 about 8,200 customers had quietly stopped receiving bills", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b", "src-45982861eb30666b" ], "supportNote": "KTVU: about 8,200 residents affected; 48hills five days earlier: 'Some 8,000 households in San Francisco haven't received a water bill in months.'", "caveat": "Both counts come from SFPUC statements to press; the utility has published no number of its own.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-2a61776afae44118", "field": "body", "text": "most residential meters in San Francisco were read by a person walking the block once every two months", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-068f65ccc40d3705" ], "supportNote": "Government Technology (2010): 'Currently most residential water meters are read by meter readers once every two months, and commercial meters are read every month.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-3252d379f914577f", "field": "body", "text": "In November 2009 the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission picked Aclara's STAR fixed radio network", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-3a2f4d31d443496d" ], "supportNote": "WaterWorld dates the selection to November 2009: SFPUC 'has selected the Aclara RF Systems Inc. STAR Network' for its citywide AMI project.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-35c58caff4b6cc1a", "field": "body", "text": "on 7 June 2010 it began what was announced as a two-year, $50 million replacement of more than 175,000 meters", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-068f65ccc40d3705" ], "supportNote": "Government Technology: the SFPUC 'on June 7 began its automated water meter program, a two-year effort'; 'started replacing its 175,000-plus water meters in June'; 'The $50 million program'.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-fa89a71a6479879c", "field": "body", "text": "funded by a 91-cent charge on every monthly water bill", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-068f65ccc40d3705" ], "supportNote": "Government Technology: 'The $50 million program is being funded by a 91-cent fee that's being tacked onto ratepayers' monthly bills.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-c174fd8c97910419", "field": "body", "text": "the Alliance for Water Efficiency dates the installation as \"primarily occurring from 2010 to 2013\"", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) was an early adopter of AMI with implementation primarily occurring from 2010 to 2013.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-6c5b7f1ba86b2ecc", "field": "body", "text": "a final-completion line was still sitting in the capital budget in FY2021", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-079a5e52f9345467" ], "supportNote": "The 10-Year Capital Plan's scenario table carries the line 'AWMP Completion (FY21) & Repl. Planning (FY22-26)'.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-37d496ac573523ba", "field": "body", "text": "transmitters are now in place at nearly all of the city's 178,000 accounts", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-05d56ac19f794358" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC: 'Meter transmission units are now in place for nearly all of San Francisco's 178,000 water accounts.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-46769ad28bd44458", "field": "body", "text": "Each meter transmission unit takes a reading every hour and sends its batch four times a day, in radio bursts of less than a tenth of a second, to one of 81 collectors around the city", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-05d56ac19f794358" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC: the MTU collects a reading each hour and sends 'every six hours' (four times a day); 'Automated Water Meters transmit radio signals only once every 6 hours, with each transmission lasting less than one-tenth of a second'; 'A total of 81 Data Collectors are located throughout the city.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-49b929e8ddca3dd5", "field": "body", "text": "\"20-year permanent battery\"", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-4e4219ba1d9b4c34" ], "supportNote": "Verbatim from the 2008 Aclara STAR Water MTU specification sheet: 'Contains a 20-year permanent battery.'", "caveat": "Vendor claim, quoted as the promise the later failure is measured against.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-202d33c9c9c25ae4", "field": "body", "text": "alert fires when a small account runs 7.5 gallons an hour or more for 48 hours without a break", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-a77ce079bd7d6b86" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC: alerts after '48 hours of continuous water use of 7.5 gallons an hour or more' at small accounts; no sign-up needed.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-91887ec47240c5f2", "field": "body", "text": "night-time consumption between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. compared against the account's own 90-day average", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE, describing the large-account screens: 'the alert threshold is two times the consumption between one a.m. and four a.m. averaged over the last 90 days' (four times for accounts with routine continuous use).", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-d6c557a68628d709", "field": "body", "text": "77 percent did not know about the water use until the notice arrived", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE, reporting SFPUC's automated post-alert surveys (n=2,138): '77 percent were not aware of the usage until they received the notice.'", "caveat": "Survey data collected by the operator and relayed by AWE; voluntary responses, so self-selection is possible.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-20184d496af14a7e", "field": "body", "text": "More than half traced it to a leaky toilet; 45 percent fixed the problem themselves without a plumber", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE, same survey: '54 percent reported leaky toilets as the cause'; '45 percent said they resolved the issue on their own; 30 percent called a plumber.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-79b8039a596c31fa", "field": "body", "text": "a second notice after two weeks, a third after ten, and after 100 days an inspector hangs a final paper notice on the door", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Customers receive a second notification about two weeks after the first notification, should the condition still persist, and a third notification about 8 weeks after the second. For single-family and small multi-family customers, the SFPUC dispatches a water conservation inspector to leave a final notice door hanger notice as a final contact effort after 100 days.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-59b5fe2bb679b6fb", "field": "body", "text": "the utility has a phone number or e-mail address for only about half of its customers", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'The SFPUC has phone numbers or email addresses for approximately half of its customers. Mailed letters are only sent if the customer does not have a valid email or mobile phone.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-172e7856f32940de", "field": "body", "text": "in March 2023 the Alliance for Water Efficiency published a four-utility statistical evaluation with SFPUC as a case study", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "The report itself: 'Smart Practices to Save Water: An Evaluation of AMI-enabled Proactive Leak Notification Programs', March 2023; utility partners Fort Worth, Sacramento, Sacramento Suburban Water District and SFPUC.", "caveat": "SFPUC is one of four utility partners that provided funding to serve as case studies — disclosed in the report's funding note.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-820eeb3f466ccfc8", "field": "body", "text": "identical alerts to private irrigation accounts cut leak volume in half", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Leak notifications to non-municipal dedicated irrigation meters resulted in a statistically significant 51 percent reduction in mean leak volume per meter.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-e4932834068ce5e7", "field": "body", "text": "\"depending on the availability of water department staff\"", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE, on why the municipal programme showed no effect: 'the process to notify municipal meters is manual and depends on the availability of water department staff.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-ae2859bd7788ea8c", "field": "body", "text": "attributed 92.8 percent of measured conservation to leak detection and repair", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-8e38aaa134894c7d" ], "supportNote": "Rupiper et al. 2024: '92.8% of the estimated water conservation is attributable to leak detection and repair.'", "caveat": "Context only: the RCT ran at East Bay MUD, not at SFPUC — it supports the mechanism, never this programme.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-847d5fc46e37a82b", "field": "body", "text": "budgets $40.2 million to replace \"the entire AWMP System by the end of its 20-year useful life (ending in 2031)\"", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-079a5e52f9345467" ], "supportNote": "Capital plan, verbatim: 'Local Water – Automated Meter Reading System: $40.2 million. This program provides funding for the ongoing Automated Water Meter Program (AWMP) including meter renewal, replacement, automation, and replacement planning for the entire AWMP System by the end of its 20-year useful life (ending in 2031).'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-99a8dbfaefc73ed0", "field": "body", "text": "local outlet 48hills reported that some 8,000 households had not received a water bill in months", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-45982861eb30666b" ], "supportNote": "48hills, 19 September 2024: 'Some 8,000 households in San Francisco haven't received a water bill in months.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-8cd5b84fc8a6c95b", "field": "body", "text": "television news put the count at about 8,200, some unbilled for over a year", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b" ], "supportNote": "KTVU, 24 September 2024: about 8,200 residents affected; 'some customers went three months without bills; others… a year or more.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-98f79c5448c62190", "field": "body", "text": "at a typical $140 a month for a single-family home", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-45982861eb30666b" ], "supportNote": "48hills: typical bills run about $50/month for an apartment and about $140/month for a single-family home; 'ten months without a bill could mean a sudden payment of more than $1,000.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-4c1c4e53f6df19d4", "field": "body", "text": "SFPUC waived interest and late fees and offered payment plans, but the consumption itself stayed owed", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-08dc890a504c86b0", "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC FAQ: 'Customers will not be charged any interest or late fees with payment plans'; KTVU, relaying SFPUC: 'customers are responsible for the cost of water and sewer service they received.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-7f9bc34b1acd5a26", "field": "body", "text": "says it is \"evaluating and upgrading\" the transponder system", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-08dc890a504c86b0" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC FAQ, live in August 2026: 'We are in the process of evaluating and upgrading our meter transponder system.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } } ], "sources": [ { "id": "src-05d56ac19f794358", "title": "SFPUC — About Your Water Meter (authority)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/accounts-services/about-your-bill/about-your-water-meter", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-18482db4b092703d", "clm-bb1afc5f7cb1c29e", "clm-37d496ac573523ba", "clm-46769ad28bd44458" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The operator's own description of the system. Supports: 'Meter transmission units are now in place for nearly all of San Francisco's 178,000 water accounts'; the Aclara Fixed Network AMI STAR System reading 'more than 96% of San Francisco's water accounts'; the MTU collecting a reading each hour and sending to a collector 'Every six hours'; 'A total of 81 Data Collectors are located throughout the city'; and the My Account data going live in Spring 2014 with downloadable daily and monthly reports.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-a77ce079bd7d6b86", "title": "SFPUC — Leak Alerts: Find and Fix Leaks (authority)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/conserve-water/leak-alerts-find-and-fix-leaks", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-73127f16c6fc714d", "clm-0b04a6c6fccab9d2", "clm-202d33c9c9c25ae4" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Currency check and the mechanics. A 'courtesy Leak Alert Program' that 'reviews hourly water use for all meters that transmit data to us electronically', with no sign-up needed; alerts after '48 hours of continuous water use of 7.5 gallons an hour or more' at small accounts, and on overnight use 100% or 300% above the 90-day average at large ones. Gives the current operating figure: 'over 170,000 meters serving 165,000-plus customers'. Confirms My Account is the live customer portal in 2026.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-926fe954f024ded3", "title": "SFPUC — Announces Expansion of Leak Alert Program (12 August 2021)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/about-us/news/sfpuc-announces-expansion-leak-alert-program", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-c5756bfa2ff2df74" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2021-08-12", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The only quantified result found, and it is self-reported: 'In the last fiscal year, the Leak Alert program saved SFPUC customers an estimated 47 million gallons of water.' Also dates the extension of alerts beyond homes to 'commercial and industrial properties and larger multi-family buildings', and gives the commercial thresholds (increases of 50 percent or more in use over 90 days, plus nightly spikes).", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-068f65ccc40d3705", "title": "Government Technology — San Francisco Water Meters to Detect Leaks, Help Customers Track Usage (26 July 2010)", "url": "https://www.govtech.com/dc/articles/San-Francisco-Water-Meters-to-Detect.html", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "govtech.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-b7ac55b8e0995f57", "clm-2a61776afae44118", "clm-35c58caff4b6cc1a", "clm-fa89a71a6479879c" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2010-07-26", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Anchors the start and the money: the SFPUC 'on June 7 began its automated water meter program, a two-year effort'; 'San Francisco started replacing its 175,000-plus water meters in June'; and 'The $50 million program is being funded by a 91-cent fee that's being tacked onto ratepayers' monthly bills.' The cost and the funding mechanism rest on this press account only — no SFPUC or Controller cost document was reachable. Also records that the online-viewing component was expected to lag the installation, which it did by four years.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-3a2f4d31d443496d", "title": "WaterWorld — San Francisco chooses Aclara AMI system to track water consumption (24 November 2009)", "url": "https://www.waterworld.com/technologies/amr-ami/article/16217202/san-francisco-chooses-aclara-ami-system-to-track-water-consumption", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "waterworld.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-dd43c3c411b2c9de", "clm-3252d379f914577f" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2009-11-24", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Dates the vendor selection to November 2009 and describes the STAR Network: low-frequency radio, hourly readings sent four times a day, replacing manual reads taken every two months residentially. Carries the claim that SFPUC 'will be the first major California water utility to install Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) technology to track water consumption' — a vendor-announcement claim in trade press, deliberately not used in the entry.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-08dc890a504c86b0", "title": "SFPUC — Delayed Water and Sewer Bills, Frequently Asked Questions (authority)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/accounts-services/account-services/delayed-water-and-sewer-bills-frequently-asked-questions", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-e728af0bf02ba69f", "clm-46dd1a498ff91f72", "clm-4c1c4e53f6df19d4", "clm-7f9bc34b1acd5a26" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The utility's own account of the failure. 'A technical problem led to some customers not receiving a water and sewer bill for several months. The problem was caused by certain transponders on water meters' — the meters read correctly but 'the transponders were not sending that data electronically to our billing system.' The admission: 'Staffing and equipment shortages left us unable to keep up with repairing our aging automated metering equipment. The situation was exacerbated by supply chain delays.' Also states SFPUC is 'in the process of evaluating and upgrading our meter transponder system', which is the only evidence of a second generation — no contract, count or schedule is given.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b", "title": "KTVU FOX 2 — Unexpected water bills to hit thousands of San Francisco mailboxes (24 September 2024)", "url": "https://www.ktvu.com/news/unexpected-water-bills-hit-thousands-san-francisco-mailboxes", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "ktvu.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-e728af0bf02ba69f", "clm-d24450b2fa17c9ea", "clm-ac80ae8f692e2e2f", "clm-8cd5b84fc8a6c95b", "clm-4c1c4e53f6df19d4" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2024-09-24", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Scales the billing failure: about 8,200 residents affected, some three months without a bill and others a year or more, with SFPUC saying customers are not charged for the repair but remain liable for the service received. Press account; SFPUC has not published a customer count of its own.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-32de3bffb656d438", "title": "Alliance for Water Efficiency — Smart Practices to Save Water: An Evaluation of AMI-enabled Proactive Leak Notification Programs (March 2023)", "url": "https://allianceforwaterefficiency.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/An-Evaluation-of-AMI-Enabled-Proactive-Leak-Notification-Programs.pdf", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "allianceforwaterefficiency.org", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "pdf", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-30d6a16775d4780f", "clm-35b19c7ef69f5ded", "clm-060bdddbaff03bc6", "clm-9518e21f7be4da53", "clm-8ca4743dd6d51d2d", "clm-c174fd8c97910419", "clm-91887ec47240c5f2", "clm-d6c557a68628d709", "clm-20184d496af14a7e", "clm-79b8039a596c31fa", "clm-59b5fe2bb679b6fb", "clm-172e7856f32940de", "clm-820eeb3f466ccfc8", "clm-e4932834068ce5e7" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The evaluation that carries this entry's grade — the only outside statistical assessment of the programme. Dates the rollout ('implementation primarily occurring from 2010 to 2013', 'Over 99 percent of its approximately 180,000 retail service connections'), the portal (2014; 'about 53 percent of SFPUC's customers were registered' by spring 2022), the postcard pilot (2015) and the automated programme (2017). Results: SFPUC's single-family programme is one of 'three of the four' with statistically significant reductions; multi-family 'registered an 18 percent reduction'; non-municipal irrigation meters 'a statistically significant 51 percent reduction'; 'Notifications to municipal meters did not result in a statistically significant difference.' Survey (n=2,138): '77 percent were not aware of the usage until they received the notice.' Disclosed limits: pre/post comparison with a nine-month pre-period, no control group, and SFPUC is one of four utility partners that 'provided funding to serve as case studies' — the reason this grades independent, not peer-reviewed.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-079a5e52f9345467", "title": "SFPUC — 10-Year Capital Plan FY 2023-24 – FY 2032-33 (authority)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/sites/default/files/about-us/policies-reports/10yrCapBudget_FY2023-24_FY2032-33.pdf", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "pdf", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-3267d66073270131", "clm-6c5b7f1ba86b2ecc", "clm-847d5fc46e37a82b" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The utility's own replacement arithmetic: 'Local Water – Automated Meter Reading System: $40.2 million. This program provides funding for the ongoing Automated Water Meter Program (AWMP) including meter renewal, replacement, automation, and replacement planning for the entire AWMP System by the end of its 20-year useful life (ending in 2031).' The transmitters started failing at scale seven years before that end date. An earlier scenario line ('AWMP Completion (FY21)') also shows final installation was still a budget item in FY2021.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-4e4219ba1d9b4c34", "title": "Aclara — STAR Network Water MTU specification sheet (©2008, vendor)", "url": "https://hocutt.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/STAR_WaterMTU.pdf", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "hocutt.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "pdf", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-f69a46cb398ca6c4", "clm-49b929e8ddca3dd5" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Vendor material, used deliberately as the claim the failure is measured against, not as support: 'Contains a 20-year permanent battery.' Also documents the design that made the battery last: 'STAR Network MTUs are capable of one- or two-way communications' but transmit on a timer 'over FCC-licensed, 450- to 470-MHz radio frequencies' — in San Francisco the deployment operates transmit-only, per SFPUC's own description of six-hourly sub-second bursts. Mirrored on a distributor site; the vendor's original page is gone.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-45982861eb30666b", "title": "48hills — Thousands of SF residents about to get a huge backdated water bill (19 September 2024)", "url": "https://48hills.org/2024/09/thousands-of-sf-residents-about-to-get-a-huge-backdated-water-bill/", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "48hills.org", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-d24450b2fa17c9ea", "clm-ac80ae8f692e2e2f", "clm-99a8dbfaefc73ed0", "clm-98f79c5448c62190" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2024-09-19", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The report that broke the billing story, five days before the TV coverage: 'Some 8,000 households in San Francisco haven't received a water bill in months.' Scales the hardship — at typical bills of roughly $50/month for an apartment and $140/month for a single-family home, 'ten months without a bill could mean a sudden payment of more than $1,000' — and carries the general manager's response that SFPUC 'plans on accommodating' hardship cases via payment plans and the 25-40% low-income discount.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-aad1e0fd7076a98b", "title": "Municipal Sewer & Water Magazine — Leading the Fight Against Non-Revenue Water (24 August 2015)", "url": "https://www.mswmag.com/online_exclusives/2015/08/leading_the_fight_against_non_revenue_water", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "mswmag.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "background", "claimRefs": [], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2015-08-24", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Trade press quoting the programme's manager mid-drought, when the alerts were still weekly postcards: 'The Aclara report tells us which accounts have exhibited continuous usage every hour over a three-day reporting period each week' and 'The utility reaches out to those who show up on the report by sending weekly postcards.' Frames the drought context: utilities scrambling 'to meet government mandates for a statewide 25 percent reduction in water usage.'", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-8e38aaa134894c7d", "title": "Rupiper et al. — AMI water meters deliver end-use water and financial savings in leaky households (Environmental Research Letters, September 2024)", "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad7bce", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "iopscience.iop.org", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-ae2859bd7788ea8c" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-12", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Context only — this randomized controlled trial ran at East Bay Municipal Utility District across the bay, not at SFPUC, and must never be read as evidence for this entry. It is cited because it is the nearest peer-reviewed test of the same mechanism: '92.8% of the estimated water conservation is attributable to leak detection and repair.' It shows what the gold-standard evaluation SFPUC has never had would look like.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } } ], "coverage": { "claimsTotal": 43, "claimsMapped": 43, "sourcesTotal": 13, "sourcesUsedByClaims": 12, "sourcesWithPublicationDate": 6, "sourcesWithArchive": 0, "sourcesWithExactLocator": 0, "sourcesWithContentHash": 0 }, "limits": [ "Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.", "Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.", "A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.", "The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim." ] } }, { "id": "2026-08-20-source-dates", "createdAt": "2026-08-20T00:00:00Z", "effectiveAt": "2026-08-12", "changeType": "update", "summary": "Recorded the two dates each source states — publication in date, a stated revision in updated, an explicit null where the source gives neither.", "preparedBy": { "type": "automation", "label": "AI-assisted evidence preparation", "humanApproved": false }, "review": { "status": "unreviewed", "by": null, "date": null, "note": "Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither." }, "changes": [ { "operation": "replace", "path": "/snapshot/projectFingerprint", "summary": "Updated projectFingerprint to the current sourced project record." }, { "operation": "replace", "path": "/snapshot/sources", "summary": "Updated sources to the current sourced project record." } ], "snapshotHash": "sha256:c1972b1931b16cc6cc29ce6c0b490f35d9e158e9a9ada283bcdacb99cd802de4", "snapshot": { "asOf": "2026-08-12", "projectFingerprint": "sha256:7e1ff8f76c6f78658b7c37d9fe04b0841805577eb342951340755bfb3a9bf557", "assurance": { "status": "unreviewed", "scope": "evidence-passport-revision", "statement": "AI-assisted structural preparation. This revision has not been reviewed by a human or subject-matter expert.", "machineChecks": [ "schema", "publication-diff-contract", "material-project-fingerprint", "claim-text-drift", "source-reference-resolution", "complete-source-dossier", "snapshot-hash" ] }, "projectState": { "status": "live", "outcome": "ongoing", "evidenceGrade": "independent", "timeline": { "started": 2010, "ended": null } }, "governance": { "operator": "San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)", "actorTypes": [ "utility" ], "fundingModel": "utility", "fundingDescription": "SFPUC water ratepayers", "cost": "≈$50M (2010 press figure; a 2014 press account put spending at $56M)", "ownership": null, "decisionRights": null, "exitConditions": null }, "claims": [ { "id": "clm-dd43c3c411b2c9de", "field": "snippet", "text": "picked Aclara's fixed radio network in 2009", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-3a2f4d31d443496d" ], "supportNote": "WaterWorld dates the selection to November 2009: SFPUC 'has selected the Aclara RF Systems Inc. STAR Network' for its citywide AMI project, replacing manual reads taken every two months residentially.", "caveat": "Trade press relaying the vendor's parent-company announcement; no SFPUC resolution from 2009 was reachable to confirm the award date first-hand.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-b7ac55b8e0995f57", "field": "snippet", "text": "began replacing San Francisco's roughly 175,000 water meters in June 2010", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-068f65ccc40d3705" ], "supportNote": "Government Technology: the SFPUC 'on June 7 began its automated water meter program, a two-year effort' and 'started replacing its 175,000-plus water meters in June.'", "caveat": "The two-year plan slipped: the Alliance for Water Efficiency dates implementation as 'primarily occurring from 2010 to 2013', and completion was still a budget line in FY2021.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-18482db4b092703d", "field": "snippet", "text": "Transmitters now cover more than 96% of accounts", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-05d56ac19f794358" ], "supportNote": "The operator's own page: meter transmission units are 'in place for nearly all of San Francisco's 178,000 water accounts', with the network reading 'more than 96% of San Francisco's water accounts.'", "caveat": "Operator self-report; the Alliance for Water Efficiency separately states over 99% of ~180,000 retail connections are on the AMI system — a different measure (installed vs. read).", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-bb1afc5f7cb1c29e", "field": "snippet", "text": "sending hourly readings to 81 collectors", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-05d56ac19f794358" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC: the MTU collects a reading each hour and transmits 'every six hours'; 'A total of 81 Data Collectors are located throughout the city.'", "caveat": "Readings are taken hourly but transmitted in six-hour batches — the page says each transmission lasts under a tenth of a second.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-73127f16c6fc714d", "field": "snippet", "text": "a courtesy leak alert flags 48 hours of constant flow", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-a77ce079bd7d6b86" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC describes a 'courtesy Leak Alert Program' that alerts small accounts after '48 hours of continuous water use of 7.5 gallons an hour or more'; no sign-up is needed.", "caveat": "The 48-hour residential threshold dates from November 2021 — before that it was 72 hours (Alliance for Water Efficiency); commercial accounts still use 72 hours plus night-use screens.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-e728af0bf02ba69f", "field": "snippet", "text": "Ageing transmitters have since left thousands unbilled", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-08dc890a504c86b0", "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC's own FAQ: 'a technical problem led to some customers not receiving a water and sewer bill for several months', caused by transponders no longer sending data to billing; KTVU counts about 8,200 residents affected.", "caveat": "SFPUC has published no customer count of its own; 8,200 is the figure the utility gave to television press.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-30d6a16775d4780f", "field": "impact", "text": "cut mean leak volume per meter by a statistically significant margin for single-family homes", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Three of the four single-family notification programs resulted in statistically significant reductions in mean leak volume per meter' — only SSWD's did not, so SFPUC's is among the significant three (its estimate: 0.63 gallons per meter per day).", "caveat": "Pre/post comparison with a nine-month pre-period, no control group; SFPUC part-funded its own case-study participation.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-35b19c7ef69f5ded", "field": "impact", "text": "by 18% for multi-family buildings", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'the SFPUC's registered an 18 percent reduction' in mean leak volume per multi-family meter, one of two of three multi-family programmes with statistically significant results.", "caveat": "Same design limits: pre/post, no control group, co-funded case study.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-060bdddbaff03bc6", "field": "impact", "text": "by 51% on non-municipal irrigation meters", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Leak notifications to non-municipal dedicated irrigation meters resulted in a statistically significant 51 percent reduction in mean leak volume per meter.' SFPUC is the only study participant with such a programme.", "caveat": "Same design limits as the other AWE results.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-9518e21f7be4da53", "field": "impact", "text": "alerts to the city's own municipal meters, still handled manually at the time, showed no significant effect", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Notifications to municipal meters did not result in a statistically significant difference in leak volume' — the non-municipal side had 'a fully automated process' while municipal notification was 'manual and depends on the availability of water department staff.' SFPUC has since automated it.", "caveat": "The report offers the manual process as the likely explanation, not a proven cause.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-c5756bfa2ff2df74", "field": "impact", "text": "SFPUC itself estimated 47 million gallons saved in the fiscal year before August 2021", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-926fe954f024ded3" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC news release: 'In the last fiscal year, the Leak Alert program saved SFPUC customers an estimated 47 million gallons of water.'", "caveat": "Operator self-report with no published methodology; kept separate from the AWE figures, which come from an outside analysis.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-8ca4743dd6d51d2d", "field": "impact", "text": "77% of notified customers had not known they had a leak", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE, reporting SFPUC's automated post-alert surveys (n=2,138, running since August 2020): '77 percent were not aware of the usage until they received the notice.' 54% traced it to leaky toilets; 45% fixed it themselves.", "caveat": "Survey data collected by the operator and relayed by AWE; voluntary responses, so self-selection is possible.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-f69a46cb398ca6c4", "field": "lesson", "text": "The vendor's data sheet promised a 20-year battery", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-4e4219ba1d9b4c34" ], "supportNote": "The era-correct 2008 Aclara STAR Water MTU specification sheet: 'Contains a 20-year permanent battery.'", "caveat": "Vendor claim, cited as the promise the failure is measured against. SFPUC itself never publicly names battery end-of-life as the cause — its FAQ says only 'aging automated metering equipment'; the juxtaposition is ours.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-3267d66073270131", "field": "lesson", "text": "schedules replacement of the system by the end of its 20-year useful life in 2031", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-079a5e52f9345467" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC's 10-Year Capital Plan: $40.2 million for 'meter renewal, replacement, automation, and replacement planning for the entire AWMP System by the end of its 20-year useful life (ending in 2031).'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-d24450b2fa17c9ea", "field": "lesson", "text": "by September 2024 about 8,200 customers had gone months, some more than a year, without a bill", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b", "src-45982861eb30666b" ], "supportNote": "KTVU: about 8,200 residents affected, 'some customers went three months without bills; others… a year or more.' 48hills broke the story five days earlier with 'Some 8,000 households… haven't received a water bill in months.'", "caveat": "Both counts come from SFPUC statements to press; the utility has published no number of its own.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-46dd1a498ff91f72", "field": "lesson", "text": "the utility could not keep up with repairing its ageing transmitters", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-08dc890a504c86b0" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC's own admission: 'Staffing and equipment shortages left us unable to keep up with repairing our aging automated metering equipment. The situation was exacerbated by supply chain delays.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-0b04a6c6fccab9d2", "field": "lesson", "text": "remain a courtesy with nothing enforced behind them", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-a77ce079bd7d6b86" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC itself calls it a 'courtesy Leak Alert Program'; the page describes notifications only — no fine, no shut-off, no obligation follows an alert.", "caveat": "The absence of enforcement is our reading of the programme description; no source states it as a design decision.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-ac80ae8f692e2e2f", "field": "body", "text": "by September 2024 about 8,200 customers had quietly stopped receiving bills", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b", "src-45982861eb30666b" ], "supportNote": "KTVU: about 8,200 residents affected; 48hills five days earlier: 'Some 8,000 households in San Francisco haven't received a water bill in months.'", "caveat": "Both counts come from SFPUC statements to press; the utility has published no number of its own.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-2a61776afae44118", "field": "body", "text": "most residential meters in San Francisco were read by a person walking the block once every two months", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-068f65ccc40d3705" ], "supportNote": "Government Technology (2010): 'Currently most residential water meters are read by meter readers once every two months, and commercial meters are read every month.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-3252d379f914577f", "field": "body", "text": "In November 2009 the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission picked Aclara's STAR fixed radio network", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-3a2f4d31d443496d" ], "supportNote": "WaterWorld dates the selection to November 2009: SFPUC 'has selected the Aclara RF Systems Inc. STAR Network' for its citywide AMI project.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-35c58caff4b6cc1a", "field": "body", "text": "on 7 June 2010 it began what was announced as a two-year, $50 million replacement of more than 175,000 meters", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-068f65ccc40d3705" ], "supportNote": "Government Technology: the SFPUC 'on June 7 began its automated water meter program, a two-year effort'; 'started replacing its 175,000-plus water meters in June'; 'The $50 million program'.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-fa89a71a6479879c", "field": "body", "text": "funded by a 91-cent charge on every monthly water bill", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-068f65ccc40d3705" ], "supportNote": "Government Technology: 'The $50 million program is being funded by a 91-cent fee that's being tacked onto ratepayers' monthly bills.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-c174fd8c97910419", "field": "body", "text": "the Alliance for Water Efficiency dates the installation as \"primarily occurring from 2010 to 2013\"", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) was an early adopter of AMI with implementation primarily occurring from 2010 to 2013.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-6c5b7f1ba86b2ecc", "field": "body", "text": "a final-completion line was still sitting in the capital budget in FY2021", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-079a5e52f9345467" ], "supportNote": "The 10-Year Capital Plan's scenario table carries the line 'AWMP Completion (FY21) & Repl. Planning (FY22-26)'.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-37d496ac573523ba", "field": "body", "text": "transmitters are now in place at nearly all of the city's 178,000 accounts", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-05d56ac19f794358" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC: 'Meter transmission units are now in place for nearly all of San Francisco's 178,000 water accounts.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-46769ad28bd44458", "field": "body", "text": "Each meter transmission unit takes a reading every hour and sends its batch four times a day, in radio bursts of less than a tenth of a second, to one of 81 collectors around the city", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-05d56ac19f794358" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC: the MTU collects a reading each hour and sends 'every six hours' (four times a day); 'Automated Water Meters transmit radio signals only once every 6 hours, with each transmission lasting less than one-tenth of a second'; 'A total of 81 Data Collectors are located throughout the city.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-49b929e8ddca3dd5", "field": "body", "text": "\"20-year permanent battery\"", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-4e4219ba1d9b4c34" ], "supportNote": "Verbatim from the 2008 Aclara STAR Water MTU specification sheet: 'Contains a 20-year permanent battery.'", "caveat": "Vendor claim, quoted as the promise the later failure is measured against.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-202d33c9c9c25ae4", "field": "body", "text": "alert fires when a small account runs 7.5 gallons an hour or more for 48 hours without a break", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-a77ce079bd7d6b86" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC: alerts after '48 hours of continuous water use of 7.5 gallons an hour or more' at small accounts; no sign-up needed.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-91887ec47240c5f2", "field": "body", "text": "night-time consumption between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. compared against the account's own 90-day average", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE, describing the large-account screens: 'the alert threshold is two times the consumption between one a.m. and four a.m. averaged over the last 90 days' (four times for accounts with routine continuous use).", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-d6c557a68628d709", "field": "body", "text": "77 percent did not know about the water use until the notice arrived", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE, reporting SFPUC's automated post-alert surveys (n=2,138): '77 percent were not aware of the usage until they received the notice.'", "caveat": "Survey data collected by the operator and relayed by AWE; voluntary responses, so self-selection is possible.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-20184d496af14a7e", "field": "body", "text": "More than half traced it to a leaky toilet; 45 percent fixed the problem themselves without a plumber", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE, same survey: '54 percent reported leaky toilets as the cause'; '45 percent said they resolved the issue on their own; 30 percent called a plumber.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-79b8039a596c31fa", "field": "body", "text": "a second notice after two weeks, a third after ten, and after 100 days an inspector hangs a final paper notice on the door", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Customers receive a second notification about two weeks after the first notification, should the condition still persist, and a third notification about 8 weeks after the second. For single-family and small multi-family customers, the SFPUC dispatches a water conservation inspector to leave a final notice door hanger notice as a final contact effort after 100 days.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-59b5fe2bb679b6fb", "field": "body", "text": "the utility has a phone number or e-mail address for only about half of its customers", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'The SFPUC has phone numbers or email addresses for approximately half of its customers. Mailed letters are only sent if the customer does not have a valid email or mobile phone.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-172e7856f32940de", "field": "body", "text": "in March 2023 the Alliance for Water Efficiency published a four-utility statistical evaluation with SFPUC as a case study", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "The report itself: 'Smart Practices to Save Water: An Evaluation of AMI-enabled Proactive Leak Notification Programs', March 2023; utility partners Fort Worth, Sacramento, Sacramento Suburban Water District and SFPUC.", "caveat": "SFPUC is one of four utility partners that provided funding to serve as case studies — disclosed in the report's funding note.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-820eeb3f466ccfc8", "field": "body", "text": "identical alerts to private irrigation accounts cut leak volume in half", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE: 'Leak notifications to non-municipal dedicated irrigation meters resulted in a statistically significant 51 percent reduction in mean leak volume per meter.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-e4932834068ce5e7", "field": "body", "text": "\"depending on the availability of water department staff\"", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-32de3bffb656d438" ], "supportNote": "AWE, on why the municipal programme showed no effect: 'the process to notify municipal meters is manual and depends on the availability of water department staff.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-ae2859bd7788ea8c", "field": "body", "text": "attributed 92.8 percent of measured conservation to leak detection and repair", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-8e38aaa134894c7d" ], "supportNote": "Rupiper et al. 2024: '92.8% of the estimated water conservation is attributable to leak detection and repair.'", "caveat": "Context only: the RCT ran at East Bay MUD, not at SFPUC — it supports the mechanism, never this programme.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-847d5fc46e37a82b", "field": "body", "text": "budgets $40.2 million to replace \"the entire AWMP System by the end of its 20-year useful life (ending in 2031)\"", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-079a5e52f9345467" ], "supportNote": "Capital plan, verbatim: 'Local Water – Automated Meter Reading System: $40.2 million. This program provides funding for the ongoing Automated Water Meter Program (AWMP) including meter renewal, replacement, automation, and replacement planning for the entire AWMP System by the end of its 20-year useful life (ending in 2031).'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-99a8dbfaefc73ed0", "field": "body", "text": "local outlet 48hills reported that some 8,000 households had not received a water bill in months", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-45982861eb30666b" ], "supportNote": "48hills, 19 September 2024: 'Some 8,000 households in San Francisco haven't received a water bill in months.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-8cd5b84fc8a6c95b", "field": "body", "text": "television news put the count at about 8,200, some unbilled for over a year", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b" ], "supportNote": "KTVU, 24 September 2024: about 8,200 residents affected; 'some customers went three months without bills; others… a year or more.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-98f79c5448c62190", "field": "body", "text": "at a typical $140 a month for a single-family home", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-45982861eb30666b" ], "supportNote": "48hills: typical bills run about $50/month for an apartment and about $140/month for a single-family home; 'ten months without a bill could mean a sudden payment of more than $1,000.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-4c1c4e53f6df19d4", "field": "body", "text": "SFPUC waived interest and late fees and offered payment plans, but the consumption itself stayed owed", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-08dc890a504c86b0", "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC FAQ: 'Customers will not be charged any interest or late fees with payment plans'; KTVU, relaying SFPUC: 'customers are responsible for the cost of water and sewer service they received.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-7f9bc34b1acd5a26", "field": "body", "text": "says it is \"evaluating and upgrading\" the transponder system", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-story-page", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-08dc890a504c86b0" ], "supportNote": "SFPUC FAQ, live in August 2026: 'We are in the process of evaluating and upgrading our meter transponder system.'", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } } ], "sources": [ { "id": "src-05d56ac19f794358", "title": "SFPUC — About Your Water Meter (authority)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/accounts-services/about-your-bill/about-your-water-meter", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-18482db4b092703d", "clm-bb1afc5f7cb1c29e", "clm-37d496ac573523ba", "clm-46769ad28bd44458" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The operator's own description of the system. Supports: 'Meter transmission units are now in place for nearly all of San Francisco's 178,000 water accounts'; the Aclara Fixed Network AMI STAR System reading 'more than 96% of San Francisco's water accounts'; the MTU collecting a reading each hour and sending to a collector 'Every six hours'; 'A total of 81 Data Collectors are located throughout the city'; and the My Account data going live in Spring 2014 with downloadable daily and monthly reports.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-a77ce079bd7d6b86", "title": "SFPUC — Leak Alerts: Find and Fix Leaks (authority)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/conserve-water/leak-alerts-find-and-fix-leaks", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-73127f16c6fc714d", "clm-0b04a6c6fccab9d2", "clm-202d33c9c9c25ae4" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Currency check and the mechanics. A 'courtesy Leak Alert Program' that 'reviews hourly water use for all meters that transmit data to us electronically', with no sign-up needed; alerts after '48 hours of continuous water use of 7.5 gallons an hour or more' at small accounts, and on overnight use 100% or 300% above the 90-day average at large ones. Gives the current operating figure: 'over 170,000 meters serving 165,000-plus customers'. Confirms My Account is the live customer portal in 2026.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-926fe954f024ded3", "title": "SFPUC — Announces Expansion of Leak Alert Program (12 August 2021)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/about-us/news/sfpuc-announces-expansion-leak-alert-program", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-c5756bfa2ff2df74" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2021-08-12", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The only quantified result found, and it is self-reported: 'In the last fiscal year, the Leak Alert program saved SFPUC customers an estimated 47 million gallons of water.' Also dates the extension of alerts beyond homes to 'commercial and industrial properties and larger multi-family buildings', and gives the commercial thresholds (increases of 50 percent or more in use over 90 days, plus nightly spikes).", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-068f65ccc40d3705", "title": "Government Technology — San Francisco Water Meters to Detect Leaks, Help Customers Track Usage (26 July 2010)", "url": "https://www.govtech.com/dc/articles/San-Francisco-Water-Meters-to-Detect.html", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "govtech.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-b7ac55b8e0995f57", "clm-2a61776afae44118", "clm-35c58caff4b6cc1a", "clm-fa89a71a6479879c" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2010-07-26", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Anchors the start and the money: the SFPUC 'on June 7 began its automated water meter program, a two-year effort'; 'San Francisco started replacing its 175,000-plus water meters in June'; and 'The $50 million program is being funded by a 91-cent fee that's being tacked onto ratepayers' monthly bills.' The cost and the funding mechanism rest on this press account only — no SFPUC or Controller cost document was reachable. Also records that the online-viewing component was expected to lag the installation, which it did by four years.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-3a2f4d31d443496d", "title": "WaterWorld — San Francisco chooses Aclara AMI system to track water consumption (24 November 2009)", "url": "https://www.waterworld.com/technologies/amr-ami/article/16217202/san-francisco-chooses-aclara-ami-system-to-track-water-consumption", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "waterworld.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-dd43c3c411b2c9de", "clm-3252d379f914577f" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2009-11-24", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Dates the vendor selection to November 2009 and describes the STAR Network: low-frequency radio, hourly readings sent four times a day, replacing manual reads taken every two months residentially. Carries the claim that SFPUC 'will be the first major California water utility to install Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) technology to track water consumption' — a vendor-announcement claim in trade press, deliberately not used in the entry.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-08dc890a504c86b0", "title": "SFPUC — Delayed Water and Sewer Bills, Frequently Asked Questions (authority)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/accounts-services/account-services/delayed-water-and-sewer-bills-frequently-asked-questions", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-e728af0bf02ba69f", "clm-46dd1a498ff91f72", "clm-4c1c4e53f6df19d4", "clm-7f9bc34b1acd5a26" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The utility's own account of the failure. 'A technical problem led to some customers not receiving a water and sewer bill for several months. The problem was caused by certain transponders on water meters' — the meters read correctly but 'the transponders were not sending that data electronically to our billing system.' The admission: 'Staffing and equipment shortages left us unable to keep up with repairing our aging automated metering equipment. The situation was exacerbated by supply chain delays.' Also states SFPUC is 'in the process of evaluating and upgrading our meter transponder system', which is the only evidence of a second generation — no contract, count or schedule is given.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-4e6e4249e6d8ce0b", "title": "KTVU FOX 2 — Unexpected water bills to hit thousands of San Francisco mailboxes (24 September 2024)", "url": "https://www.ktvu.com/news/unexpected-water-bills-hit-thousands-san-francisco-mailboxes", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "ktvu.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-e728af0bf02ba69f", "clm-d24450b2fa17c9ea", "clm-ac80ae8f692e2e2f", "clm-8cd5b84fc8a6c95b", "clm-4c1c4e53f6df19d4" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2024-09-24", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Scales the billing failure: about 8,200 residents affected, some three months without a bill and others a year or more, with SFPUC saying customers are not charged for the repair but remain liable for the service received. Press account; SFPUC has not published a customer count of its own.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-32de3bffb656d438", "title": "Alliance for Water Efficiency — Smart Practices to Save Water: An Evaluation of AMI-enabled Proactive Leak Notification Programs (March 2023)", "url": "https://allianceforwaterefficiency.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/An-Evaluation-of-AMI-Enabled-Proactive-Leak-Notification-Programs.pdf", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "allianceforwaterefficiency.org", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "pdf", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-30d6a16775d4780f", "clm-35b19c7ef69f5ded", "clm-060bdddbaff03bc6", "clm-9518e21f7be4da53", "clm-8ca4743dd6d51d2d", "clm-c174fd8c97910419", "clm-91887ec47240c5f2", "clm-d6c557a68628d709", "clm-20184d496af14a7e", "clm-79b8039a596c31fa", "clm-59b5fe2bb679b6fb", "clm-172e7856f32940de", "clm-820eeb3f466ccfc8", "clm-e4932834068ce5e7" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The evaluation that carries this entry's grade — the only outside statistical assessment of the programme. Dates the rollout ('implementation primarily occurring from 2010 to 2013', 'Over 99 percent of its approximately 180,000 retail service connections'), the portal (2014; 'about 53 percent of SFPUC's customers were registered' by spring 2022), the postcard pilot (2015) and the automated programme (2017). Results: SFPUC's single-family programme is one of 'three of the four' with statistically significant reductions; multi-family 'registered an 18 percent reduction'; non-municipal irrigation meters 'a statistically significant 51 percent reduction'; 'Notifications to municipal meters did not result in a statistically significant difference.' Survey (n=2,138): '77 percent were not aware of the usage until they received the notice.' Disclosed limits: pre/post comparison with a nine-month pre-period, no control group, and SFPUC is one of four utility partners that 'provided funding to serve as case studies' — the reason this grades independent, not peer-reviewed.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-079a5e52f9345467", "title": "SFPUC — 10-Year Capital Plan FY 2023-24 – FY 2032-33 (authority)", "url": "https://www.sfpuc.gov/sites/default/files/about-us/policies-reports/10yrCapBudget_FY2023-24_FY2032-33.pdf", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sfpuc.gov", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "pdf", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-3267d66073270131", "clm-6c5b7f1ba86b2ecc", "clm-847d5fc46e37a82b" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2023-02-14", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The utility's own replacement arithmetic: 'Local Water – Automated Meter Reading System: $40.2 million. This program provides funding for the ongoing Automated Water Meter Program (AWMP) including meter renewal, replacement, automation, and replacement planning for the entire AWMP System by the end of its 20-year useful life (ending in 2031).' The transmitters started failing at scale seven years before that end date. An earlier scenario line ('AWMP Completion (FY21)') also shows final installation was still a budget item in FY2021.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-4e4219ba1d9b4c34", "title": "Aclara — STAR Network Water MTU specification sheet (©2008, vendor)", "url": "https://hocutt.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/STAR_WaterMTU.pdf", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "hocutt.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "pdf", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-f69a46cb398ca6c4", "clm-49b929e8ddca3dd5" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Vendor material, used deliberately as the claim the failure is measured against, not as support: 'Contains a 20-year permanent battery.' Also documents the design that made the battery last: 'STAR Network MTUs are capable of one- or two-way communications' but transmit on a timer 'over FCC-licensed, 450- to 470-MHz radio frequencies' — in San Francisco the deployment operates transmit-only, per SFPUC's own description of six-hourly sub-second bursts. Mirrored on a distributor site; the vendor's original page is gone.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-45982861eb30666b", "title": "48hills — Thousands of SF residents about to get a huge backdated water bill (19 September 2024)", "url": "https://48hills.org/2024/09/thousands-of-sf-residents-about-to-get-a-huge-backdated-water-bill/", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "48hills.org", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-d24450b2fa17c9ea", "clm-ac80ae8f692e2e2f", "clm-99a8dbfaefc73ed0", "clm-98f79c5448c62190" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2024-09-19", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The report that broke the billing story, five days before the TV coverage: 'Some 8,000 households in San Francisco haven't received a water bill in months.' Scales the hardship — at typical bills of roughly $50/month for an apartment and $140/month for a single-family home, 'ten months without a bill could mean a sudden payment of more than $1,000' — and carries the general manager's response that SFPUC 'plans on accommodating' hardship cases via payment plans and the 25-40% low-income discount.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-aad1e0fd7076a98b", "title": "Municipal Sewer & Water Magazine — Leading the Fight Against Non-Revenue Water (24 August 2015)", "url": "https://www.mswmag.com/online_exclusives/2015/08/leading_the_fight_against_non_revenue_water", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "mswmag.com", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "background", "claimRefs": [], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2015-08-24", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Trade press quoting the programme's manager mid-drought, when the alerts were still weekly postcards: 'The Aclara report tells us which accounts have exhibited continuous usage every hour over a three-day reporting period each week' and 'The utility reaches out to those who show up on the report by sending weekly postcards.' Frames the drought context: utilities scrambling 'to meet government mandates for a statewide 25 percent reduction in water usage.'", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-8e38aaa134894c7d", "title": "Rupiper et al. — AMI water meters deliver end-use water and financial savings in leaky households (Environmental Research Letters, September 2024)", "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad7bce", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "iopscience.iop.org", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-ae2859bd7788ea8c" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": "2024-09-24", "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-08-12", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-20", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "publication-and-record-dates-recorded" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "Context only — this randomized controlled trial ran at East Bay Municipal Utility District across the bay, not at SFPUC, and must never be read as evidence for this entry. It is cited because it is the nearest peer-reviewed test of the same mechanism: '92.8% of the estimated water conservation is attributable to leak detection and repair.' It shows what the gold-standard evaluation SFPUC has never had would look like.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } } ], "coverage": { "claimsTotal": 43, "claimsMapped": 43, "sourcesTotal": 13, "sourcesUsedByClaims": 12, "sourcesWithPublicationDate": 8, "sourcesWithArchive": 0, "sourcesWithExactLocator": 0, "sourcesWithContentHash": 0 }, "limits": [ "Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.", "Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.", "A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.", "The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim." ] } } ] }