Groundwater Awareness Week is here!

Each year, the nation takes a week to celebrate something you can’t see but use every day – groundwater. This year, we’re celebrating Groundwater Awareness Week on social media by sharing interesting information and tips on conserving and protecting groundwater.

Here in Santa Clara County, groundwater is an important part of our water supply, with local groundwater basins holding more than twice the amount of water in all 10 of our surface reservoirs combined.

In fact, Valley Water got its start 95 years ago as a way to make sure our groundwater supply was sustainable. Back then, water was being pumped out of the ground faster than it was replaced. This led to unreliable water supplies and land subsidence, where the land surface sinks, causing problems like infrastructure damage, flooding and seawater intrusion. Before we halted subsidence around 1970, parts of San José sank 13 feet!

We still work hard today to make sure groundwater supplies are reliable while preventing subsidence and seawater intrusion. We do that by ensuring our groundwater basins are not over-pumped.

Nearly half the water used yearly in Santa Clara County is pumped from groundwater by water retailers and thousands of private well owners. Together, they pump far more than is replenished naturally, so Valley Water uses local surface water captured in reservoirs and

water imported from outside the county to refill our aquifers. These activities help ensure there’s enough water to meet the needs of residents, businesses, and agriculture. Valley Water also works to reduce demand for groundwater supplies by providing alternative water supplies, such as treated and recycled water, and through our water conservation programs.

During the recent drought, Santa Clara County residents did a fantastic job reducing water use and have continued to show that conservation is a way of life. With these efforts and our work to replenish groundwater, our groundwater basins have recovered to healthy pre-drought levels.

The quality of that water is important, too. Industrial spills, leaking underground fuel tanks, fertilizers and other sources of contamination threaten our groundwater supplies. That’s why Valley Water has a comprehensive monitoring program and programs for constructing and destroying wells. We also coordinate with land use and regulatory agencies to help minimize the risk of groundwater contamination and ensure groundwater remains a viable local resource now and in the future.

All this work to manage our groundwater and keep it safe and reliable is mostly funded through groundwater production charges paid by pumpers. Groundwater management costs and benefits are documented yearly in Valley Water’s Water Utility Enterprise Protection and Augmentation of Water Supplies Report.

Groundwater continues to be an essential resource that helps ensure water supply reliability for Santa Clara County. Let’s all work together to protect one of our most precious water resources.