Valley Water’s mission is to provide Santa Clara County with safe, clean water for a healthy life, environment and economy. Our work includes managing Santa Clara County’s current water supply and ensuring a reliable supply for future generations. Water infrastructure projects often take decades to design and construct, so we must plan ahead.
The Water Supply Master Plan is Valley Water’s long-range blueprint to guide water supply investments to ensure a reliable water supply for the county. The plan assesses how much water we’ll need in the future and what water supply and infrastructure projects are needed to meet that demand. Valley Water’s water supply goal is to meet 100% of demand during non-drought years and at least 80% in drought years.
In 2023, Valley Water started a two-year process to update its existing Water Supply Master Plan through 2050.
Our analysis shows that if Valley Water relies only on existing water supply and infrastructure, it will face water shortages during multi-year droughts in the future. Therefore, Valley Water needs to invest in new projects that address climate change and population growth. The projects being identified and evaluated include:
- Local, drought-proof water supplies such as advanced purified water
- New supply and storage projects
- Investing in maintaining the existing system
We are also recommending water conservation goals to help people in Santa Clara County make water conservation a way of life.
Many of the water supply and storage projects are partnerships with other agencies, as we are in an era of generational investment in California’s water supply infrastructure.
Public engagement and participation are crucial elements of our Water Supply Master Planning process. Valley Water invites members of the public to attend meetings regarding the plan, learn more and share their opinions about this critical effort.
On Jan. 9, 2024, Valley Water staff will update the Board of Directors on the development of the Water Supply Master Plan 2050. Members of the public are welcome to attend in the Valley Water Headquarters Building Boardroom at 5700 Almaden Expressway in San Jose. To view the meeting online and access the agenda, click here.
On Sept. 19, 2023, Valley Water held a special workshop to provide board members and the public with an update on the development of the Water Supply Master Plan 2050. The board packet and recording can be found here.
The words “imported water” and “Delta” do not appear in this article. I would like to see an article talking about our water supply from the Delta and how that will be evaluated in the Water Supply Master Plan (Delta Conveyance, Sites Reservoir, Los Vaqueros Reservoir, San Luis Reservoir, Pacheco Reservoir, out of county groundwater banking, transfers and exchanges, etc).
Hi Katja. Thanks for the suggestion and feedback.