Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), along with a coalition of other Bay Area water, wastewater, and flood control agencies, is taking action to put new weather radar technology to use, bringing advanced precipitation observations and forecasts to California. This advanced network works like a magnifying glass, giving agencies and the communities they serve a clearer, real-time view of atmospheric rivers and rainfall intensity. It helps show where the heaviest rain will fall. This improved data enables public agencies and communities to prepare and respond when dangerous storms approach the coast. And, in our drought-prone state, it provides water agencies pinpointed data to maximize water supply reservoir storage.
This system, known as Advanced Quantitative Precipitation Information, or AQPI, was developed through a decade-long local, state, and federal agency collaboration working with key researchers to improve monitoring of extreme weather events within the Bay Area’s complex terrain. In areas shaped by hills, valleys and coastal mountains, traditional weather radar can miss critical details where heavy rain is developing.
Learn more: sfpuc.gov/about-us/news/bay-area-public-water-and-wastewater-utilities-build-advanced-radar-network-bringing
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), along with a coalition of other Bay Area water, wastewater, and flood control agencies, is taking action to put new weather radar technology to use, bringing advanced precipitation observations and forecasts to California. This advanced network works like a magnifying glass, giving agencies and the communities they serve a clearer, real-time view of atmospheric rivers and rainfall intensity. It helps show where the heaviest rain will fall. This improved data enables public agencies and communities to prepare and respond when dangerous storms approach the coast. And, in our drought-prone state, it provides water agencies pinpointed data to maximize water supply reservoir storage.
This system, known as Advanced Quantitative Precipitation Information, or AQPI, was developed through a decade-long local, state, and federal agency collaboration working with key researchers to improve monitoring of extreme weather events within the Bay Area’s complex terrain. In areas shaped by hills, valleys and coastal mountains, traditional weather radar can miss critical details where heavy rain is developing.
Learn more: sfpuc.gov/about-us/news/bay-area-public-water-and-wastewater-utilities-build-advanced-radar-network-bringing
