Water district officials took
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and a
representative from Senator Dianne
Feinstein’s office to see Anderson Dam
and visit families whose homes had
suffered flood damage.
“We’ve made our district’s needs for
emergency funding support known, and
our state and federal officials expressed
their willingness to help,” Varela said. In
early March, the water district approved
reallocation of contract funds and
services, supporting the City of San Jose
and the San Jose Conservation Corps in
their response to the health and safety
needs in the area impacted by flooding.
We’re not alone in this regard. The
Public Policy Institute of California
estimates an annual funding gap of as
much as $1 billion for the state’s flood
management needs, with various water
agencies looking to improve flood
management practices, adapt to climate
change, and fund flood infrastructure
projects.
PURIFIED WATER
IS HERE
“The only way to ensure water in
perpetuity is through innovative and
expanded water treatment and recycling
programs,” Varela said.
Periodically, the water district hosts
tours of the Silicon Valley Advanced
Water Purification Center, the largest
facility of its kind in Northern
California. The facility takes treated
wastewater that would otherwise be
discharged into the San Francisco Bay
and purifies it to near-distilled quality.
The water goes through a three-step
process of microfiltration, reverse
osmosis, and ultraviolet disinfection that
mimics Mother Nature only it’s faster.
Modern water purification technology
has been proven effective in industrial
applications as well as in emergency
response scenarios.
“The technology’s been around
for years,” Varela said. “Even NASA’s
astronauts drink recycled water during
space flight.”
The Silicon Valley Advanced Water
Purification facility currently produces
eight million gallons per day of highly
purified water, which is blended with
Source: Santa Clara Valley Water District
other recycled water to enhance its
quality for industrial and landscape
uses. The facility was modeled after
a similar one in Orange County that
produces 100 million gallons per day
to supplement groundwater supplies.
SCVWD has plans to expand use of
purified water to augment drinking
water supplies in the future.
Drawing on lessons learned at the
Silicon Valley facility, it’s conceivable
that a similar facility might one day
be co-located with the Santa Clara
Regional Wastewater Authority’s
treatment plant in Gilroy, but it’s
not on the drawing board yet. For
South County, it could mean a larger
reliable supply of water in dry years.
Visit purewaterSV.org.
OUR WATER FUTURE
The water district is currently updating
its water supply master plan through
the year 2040. New options are being
explored for expanded water storage,
recycling, purifi cation, storm water
capture, and more.
According to Varela, the water
district is studying the feasibility of
using Pacheco Reservoir to store water
piped in from San Luis Reservoir in wet
winters. This water could supplement
South County’s water needs during a
drought.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
MAY/JUNE 2017
Another opportunity relates to Lake
Shasta, the largest single reservoir
in California with a volume of
4,552,000 acre feet. Shasta flows into
the Sacramento River sending fresh
clean water south. “There’s no need
to pump it,” Varela said, “just to build
the pipeline to transport it.” However,
environmental groups and Native
Americans have expressed concerns
about negative impacts of expanding
Shasta, and cost is another issue.
Varela also noted that plans are
on the drawing board to build the
Sites Reservoir, a proposed offstream
reservoir in the Sacramento Valley
that would capture winter floodwaters
from the Sacramento River, diverting
the water upstream of the Delta and
pumping it into an artificial lake located
west of Colusa. “Of course, that’s
probably still twenty years into the
future,” he added.
Varela talked about opportunities to
“bank water” through partnerships with
other water agencies. For example, the
Contra Costa County Water District is
planning to expand the Los Vaqueros
Reservoir to a capacity of 275,000 acre
feet. SCVWD has committed some
funds for initial planning but has made
no partnership commitment as yet.
Another opportunity is being explored
in the Bakersfield area.
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