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indicated the board’s willingness to eventually commit over $200 million to the project. It adopted a number of guiding principles: • Santa Clara County needs are the primary drivers in all water district decisions involving the WaterFix project. • The water district won’t allow Silicon Valley values and priorities to be placed at a disadvantage relative to Central Valley Agriculture or Southern California. • District officials are advocating for a flexible approach that addresses Silicon Valley stakeholder and community input. • As water is a human right, the water district must make investments to make sure its water supply meets future needs at a cost affordable by everyone. • Equity and costs are important. • Any final arrangement must provide flexibility to acquire supplemental water by taking advantage of future wet years to ensure residents have a reliable water supply, no matter what extreme weather the changing climate brings. • The water district will keep negotiating for the best deal for Santa Clara County. Discussions with the state and partner water agencies about the multi-billion- dollar project are ongoing. ANDERSON DAM SEISMIC RETROFIT Anderson Dam is not only the biggest of the county’s ten reservoirs, but bigger than all the others put together—a crucial player in our water supply. Seven years ago the water district identified seismic issues, after which it was required to maintain the dam at just 68 percent of capacity, despite a five-year drought that ensued. The water district has been planning a seismic retrofit for a number of years now and in that process, uncovered additional vulnerabilities that required a more extensive retrofit. It also adjusted the dam to approximately 38 percent of capacity. Revised plans call for a majority of the dam to be removed and replaced with a new dam seven feet higher and new spillway walls about nine feet higher. A new, large outlet will enable rapid draw- down of the reservoir in the event of an emergency. Design changes have pushed project cost beyond $550 million. SCVWD has said that while about $65 million of the funding will come from the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program, the remainder will come from water rates over the next three decades. Assuming SCVWD secures the project’s required permits, construction may begin in 2020 and continue for about a five-year period. A draft Environmental Impact Report is due out this spring. CONSERVATION Water conservation is another aspect of resilience that Santos said the water district will continue to encourage. Last year’s winter floods were followed by this year’s dry winter. Another drought cycle could be just around the corner. The water district board adopted a target reduction in water use of 20 percent over 2013 levels, which still stands. RISING RATES The District is looking to invest $116 million in the next few years for the South County portion of the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit. GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN APRIL/MAY 2018 More than $19M is earmarked for the expansion of drought-proof recycled water supplies to help ensure reliable water supply in the future. Some $29 million is planned over the next 10 years for California WaterFix to improve the reliability and water quality of supplies conveyed through the Bay Delta. Finally, $14M is planned for pipe- line inspection and rehab efforts to help prevent a failure like the one that occurred in August 2015 to the Santa Clara Conduit near Highway 152. The District is currently conducting a study “to evaluate whether the