What BAWSCA does

BAWSCA (Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency) is a California joint powers authority established in 2003 to represent the collective water supply and conservation interests of 26 member agencies — 25 cities and water districts across San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties, plus Stanford University and at least one investor-owned utility (California Water Service). The agency serves approximately 1.8 million residents and over 40,000 commercial, industrial, and institutional accounts, with FY 2024-25 total water demand across the service area of 192.37 million gallons per day and average residential per capita use of 58.87 gallons per capita per day.

The agency's core operational dependency is the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), from which it procures wholesale water through the San Francisco Regional Water System (RWS) — including Hetch Hetchy-sourced supply — for redistribution to member agencies. Its service portfolio is organized around three pillars: regional water supply planning and reliability (supply strategy, groundwater reliability, the Reliability Roundtable, the Water System Improvement Program interface, annual demand surveys and the 2025 Demand Study); conservation programs (rebates for lawn removal, rain barrels, smart irrigation controllers, irrigation hardware, landscape classes, native garden tours, large landscape audits, and the Residential Self-Audit Tool); and community/school education (Water Wise Kits for 5th graders, EarthCapades assemblies, Tuolumne In My Tap, and a Speakers Bureau).

BAWSCA is governed by a Board of Directors representing its member agencies and is funded through member agency contributions and assessments rather than market-rate pricing. It does not appear to be venture-backed, does not have a parent company, and does not publicly disclose revenue. The firmographic tag of 'for_profit' in the input data is inconsistent with the entity's legal status as a public JPA under California state law, and the analytical frame should reflect its public-agency nature: stable institutional membership, programmatic rather than commercial growth, and statutory rather than market-based defensibility.

Name

BAWSCA

Legal name

Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency

Website

https://bawsca.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BAWSCA is a California joint powers authority representing 26 member agencies' water interests, providing regional supply planning, conservation programs, and reliability coordination across San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties for 1.8 million residents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Utility Services

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Supply & Wastewater Utilities Administration (BPAIACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water Quality Monitoring, Compliance & Reporting (Sampling, Lab, Regulatory) (EUANAAAG), Regulatory Compliance Monitoring & Reporting (SDWA/CWA/NPDES, permits, audits) (EUANAJAA), Water & Wastewater Compliance (NPDES/Stormwater, Pretreatment, Drinking Water/SDWA) (EUAHABAB)

Keywords

• Regional water supply planning
• Water conservation programs
• Water resource development
• Wholesale water procurement
• Water reliability planning

Headquarters

HQ city

San Mateo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BAWSCA (Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency) provides regional water supply planning, resource development, and conservation program services for 26 cities, water districts, a university, and an investor-owned utility across San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties. The agency purchases wholesale water from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and coordinates drought preparedness, groundwater reliability, and conservation rebates/programs for its member agencies, representing 1.8 million residents and over 40,000 commercial, industrial, and institutional accounts.

Product overview

BAWSCA (Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency) is a regional water supply planning and conservation agency serving 26 cities, water districts, a university, and an investor-owned utility in San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties. The agency provides core services including water supply planning and resource development, water conservation programs (rebates, landscape classes, smart irrigation), and school education programs (Water Wise Kits, EarthCapades). BAWSCA also offers informational services such as annual water demand surveys, water rates information, and water reliability resources. The organization represents water interests for 1.8 million residents and over 40,000 commercial, industrial, and institutional accounts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water Supply Planning Services Regional water supply planning and resource development services for 26 member agencies in San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties, including coordination of wholesale water purchases from SFPUC and Hetch Hetchy System.
• Conservation Programs Water conservation programs including rebates for lawn replacement, rain barrels, smart controllers, and irrigation hardware; plus landscape classes and home water use reports offered to Bay Area water users.
• Water-Wise School Education Kits Program School education kits distributed to 5th grade students containing water-saving devices and a curriculum enabling students to perform in-home water audits.
• EarthCapades Assemblies Free school assemblies combining circus skills, music, and comedy with environmental awareness and water conservation education for Bay Area students.
• Residential Self-Audit Tool (RSAT) Online tool enabling residential customers to audit their own water usage and identify conservation opportunities.
• Annual Water Demand Survey Annual water demand survey providing data on total water demand and residential per capita water use in the BAWSCA service area, including FY 2024-25 figures of 192.37 million gallons per day and 58.87 gallons per capita per day.
• Water Rates Information Information on water rates, charges, and San Francisco RWS wholesale rates provided to member agencies.
• Water Reliability Resources Reliability strategy, groundwater reliability information, and the Reliability Roundtable convened by BAWSCA for member agencies.
• Member Agency Services Support services for 26 member agencies including urban water management, service area maps, member profiles, and water-related organizational links.

Quantifiable outcome

• 192.37 million gallons per day total water demand managed for FY 2024-25
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBAWSCA purchases water from SFPUC through the San Francisco Regional Water System (SF RWS), including Hetch Hetchy water supply. This is the primary water source for most member agencies, providing wholesale water deliveries to BAWSCA's service area.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California: MWD is a regional wholesaler aggregating water supply for 26 member agencies across Southern California; it is the closest analog to BAWSCA at much larger scale, with parallel JPA-style governance, conservation rebate programs, and imported-supply planning.
• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC): SFPUC is the wholesale water supplier that BAWSCA purchases from through the Hetch Hetchy system; it is the foundational counterparty for BAWSCA's regional planning mandate and operates overlapping reliability and water-quality functions for the same Bay Area population.

Direct peers

• East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD): EBMUD is a large multi-county water and wastewater utility serving Alameda and Contra Costa counties, with overlapping service geography (Alameda County) with BAWSCA member agencies and comparable wholesale supply, conservation, and water-reliability mandates.
• San Diego County Water Authority: SDCWA is a regional water wholesaler representing 24 member agencies in San Diego County, structurally similar to BAWSCA as a JPA aggregating demand for imported supply and running conservation, reliability, and public-outreach programs.
• California Water Service Company (Cal Water): Cal Water is a private (investor-owned) water utility that is a member agency customer of BAWSCA and serves many of the same Bay Area residents; it is a relevant peer for comparison of utility-scale water delivery, conservation rebates, and customer engagement programs.
• Inland Empire Utilities Agency: IEUA is a regional water and wastewater JPA in the Inland Empire serving multiple municipalities with imported supply coordination, recycled water, and conservation programs — a close structural parallel to BAWSCA outside the Bay Area.
• Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water): Valley Water is a wholesale water supplier and groundwater management agency in Santa Clara County serving many of the same municipalities and residents that BAWSCA represents; it is a parallel regional water authority with comparable supply, conservation, and reliability programs.
• Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA): BACWA is a Bay Area joint powers authority of wastewater agencies for regulatory and policy coordination — a direct structural peer to BAWSCA's regional coordination model, applied to wastewater rather than water supply.
• Zone 7 Water Agency (Alameda County Flood Control & Water Conservation District): Zone 7 provides treated water and groundwater management in eastern Alameda County, with overlapping geography and customer base with BAWSCA member agencies; it is a comparable regional water/groundwater reliability agency.

Regional players

• Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (SRCSD) / Regional San: Regional San is a large multi-county wastewater JPA in the Sacramento region; while focused on wastewater rather than water supply, its JPA governance model and regional coordination mandate are structurally comparable to BAWSCA's public-agency framework.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bay-area-water-supply-and-conservation-agency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BAWSCA