Timeline of the history of water in Santa Clara County

10 Million B.C.
Movement along the San Andreas Fault begins to create California's current coastal configuration.

20,000 B.C.
The last ice age ends. The resulting rise in water creates one of the world's largest estuaries, the San Francisco Bay.

3200 B.C.
There is more water in the bowl-shaped Santa Clara Valley than its inhabitants can use. During the winter and spring, hundreds of ponds dot the earth and the many rivers are bordered by thickly grown willow, alder, laurel, cottonwood and blackberry. The indigenous peoples known as the Ohlone, which means "people of the west," discard shells in their camps, burn the grasses to enhance the riparian settings, conduct low-impact mining and selectively gather plants and hunt animals. The Ohlone also are credited with extensive distribution of buckeye (a food source) in stream corridors. However, they never tax the water supply to the point of having to dig for it. (See "A River Ran Through It...The Cultural Ecology of the Santa Clara Valley Riparian Zone" by Erin M. Reilly for more details.) The Ohlone population numbers approximately ten thousand by the time Europeans arrive in the Bay Area.

1769
The first permanent Spanish settlements are established in the Santa Clara Valley. Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola leads the first reconnoitering expedition of conquistadors, followed by several others including Col. Juan Bautista de Anza.

1776
Col. Juan Bautista de Anza secures the great Bay of San Francisco for Spain.

1777
On the banks of the Guadalupe River, what is known today as San Jose becomes California's first pueblo, or civil settlement.

Mission Santa Clara is founded by Father Junipero Serra in Santa Clara.

1797
Father Junipero Serra founds Mission San Jose on the banks of the Guadalupe River.

1799
The beautiful Alameda, considered one of the most charming drives in the world, is laid out by Father Maguin de Catala, one of the fathers at the mission. He organizes planting of trees along the road and employs 200 Indians to water and protect the saplings until they are large enough to withstand the assaults of the cattle that roam all over the country. He also builds the road, giving the people of the pueblo pleasant traveling to the mission to attend religious services.

1803
The first chapel is erected in the pueblo, at the corner of Market and San Fernando streets, where the Catholic church now stands. It remains until 1835.

1810-1821
The Mexican War of Independence results in a transfer of power from Spain to Mexico over the region now known as California.

1814
The first foreign settler in the Santa Clara Valley who is not Spanish or Mexican, arrives in Monterey Bay on a ship belonging to the Hudson Bay Company. John Gilroy is ill with scurvy and is left on shore to be cured. He recovers and finds his way to the Santa Clara Valley. There he marries into the Ortega family and settles on the Rancho San Ysidro, a short distance east from the city which now bears his name.

1822
A severe earthquake occurs which causes considerable injury to life and property. The walls at the mission in Santa Clara are cracked, but the church is not destroyed.

1822-1846
During the Mexican era, the growing population and the increase in livestock do not disturb the valley's groundwater. Mexican ranchos are established for cattle and dry farming. Mission land grants are given to private owners beginning in 1833. Ranchos spring up all over the valley, each with its own water source due to the abundance of water.

1825
California becomes a territory of the Mexican republic.

1832
Winter brings more than 32 inches of rain. The Guadalupe River overflows its banks and floods San Jose's dirt streets creating a muddy mess.

1846
Trouble between the United States and Mexico begins. In May, California Gov. Pio Pico expresses his feelings in his address to the Departmental Assembly, "We find ourselves threatened by hordes of Yankee immigrants who have already begun to flock into our country, and whose progress we cannot arrest. Already have the wagons of that perfidious people scaled the almost inaccessible summits of the Sierra Nevada, crossed the entire continent, and penetrated the fruitful Valley of Sacramento. What that astonishing people will next undertake I cannot say; but in whatever enterprise they embark they will be sure to be successful. Already these adventurous voyagers, spreading themselves over a country that seems to suit their tastes, are cultivating farms, establishing vineyards, erecting sawmills, sawing up lumber and doing a thousand other things that seem natural to them."

American rebels, under the leadership of Capt. John Charles Fremont, raise the Bear Flag of the California Republic over the town of Sonoma on June 14. The U.S. conquest of the territory that is California brings with it the burden of increased agriculture and population.

Santa Clara Valley is fine farmland. San Jose's temporary status as state capitol and its location on the main highway of north-south traffic in California make the valley an attractive site for settlers.

The Donner Party is stranded in the Sierra just weeks after the Harlan-Young Party make it through the mountains to settle in the Santa Clara Valley. Each wagon in the Harlan-Young Party pays $10 for the services of pathfinder Lansford Hastings, who leads the party to believe it is only a 40-mile trip when in actuality it is a grueling 82 miles. They reach the summit of the Sierra Nevada in a snowstorm on Oct. 10, 1846.

1848
American forces conquer Mexican California. The territory becomes official property of the United States with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Thousands of gold prospectors and settlers pour into California from the East after gold is discovered at Sutter's Fort in Sacramento. Gold rush mining activities bring the first pollutants into the San Francisco Bay. Hydraulic mining kills millions of bay organisms. People pay as high as $4 for a dozen eggs during the Gold Rush. The eggs, probably from seagulls, come from San Francisco but most likely originated on the Farallon Islands. (See ÒStories of Santa Clara ValleyÓ by Dwight Bentel and Dolores Freitas.)

Isaac Branham and Julian Hanks build the first operating sawmill in Santa Clara County on Los Gatos Creek. Branham and Hanks soon sell their mill to Zacariah "BuffaloÓ"Jones and the neighborhood becomes known as Jones Mill.

1849
In November, the Constitution of the State of California is adopted, and San Jose is named the state capitol. The first legislature convenes in San Jose on Dec. 15.

1850
The city of San Jose's population increases to 3,000. California becomes the 31st state on Sept. 9. More people move to California, increasing the demand for water.

1851
Santa Clara County is organized and its government is vested in what is known as the Court of Sessions, presided over by the County Judge and two associates, chosen from the Justices of the Peace of the County.

1852
The first cases of cholera appear in the valley, and are fatal to many Indians and Mexicans.

1854
The first well is sunk in San Jose in late January. Water is struck at just 80 feet. The ensuing eruption of water rises 10 feet above ground.

1856
French agriculturist Pierre Pellier discovers the soil in the Santa Clara Valley is perfect for raising French prunes. By 1875 the local dried prunes are popular across the country. Prune orchards require irrigation, and the thriving business leads to drilling deeper wells and increased water usage.

1860
Abraham Lincoln is elected president. Southern states secede from the Union to form the Confederacy. President Lincoln declares war on the Confederacy and the Civil War begins. California declares itself a Union free state.

1862
The Guadalupe River floods.

1864
Agriculture receives a big boost with the completion of the San Jose-San Francisco Railroad which allows Santa Clara County's growers to ship fruit and vegetables to the San Francisco produce market.

A bill is introduced in the U.S. Congress by Sen. John Conness that would require the State of California to preserve and protect Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in a natural, undisturbed condition. It passes Congress and is signed by President Lincoln, and then accepted by the state.

1865
President Lincoln is assassinated; Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes president.

The number of artesian wells, which produce a flow of water because of the pressure caused by underground storage, in the Santa Clara Valley reaches nearly 500.

Until the mid-1860s farmers concentrate on raising cattle and wheat. Wheat is "dry" farmed, not irrigated. Orchards and vineyards increase in number. An increasing variety of table vegetables are cultivated as the century comes to a close.

1870s
Artesian wells and wells pumped by windmills are a common sight in the Santa Clara Valley.
The most memorable artesian well is G.A. Dabney's. Dabney's spout shoots 9 feet high. Its stream is 4 feet wide and 6 inches deep. It flows uncontrollably for six weeks. Finally it is declared a public nuisance by the city of San Jose because its stream runs down busy Fourth Street, interfering with traffic. Dabney is ordered to pay a fine of $50 for every day he allows the water to run. Finally, the sinking of other wells in the neighborhood reduces the flow so it can be controlled.

The South Pacific Coast Railroad is constructed through Pajaro Gap in Monterey County. A station is established in Alma. (The railroad, later owned by Southern Pacific, operates until March 4, 1940.) Farmers are now able to transport their crops south. Commercial fruit growing increases in importance.

1881
Running water is directed through pipes to Santa Clara Valley residents for the first time.

1892
About 100 new wells are drilled yearly in the valley. By 1920, the annual rate reaches 1,700. In 1912, only 29 percent of the valley is under irrigation; by 1920, the percentage increases to 67 percent, including 90 percent of all orchards. From 1904 to 1906, land receiving water from diverted streams in winter and spring totals 14,000 acres; by 1920 the acreage declines to only 3,000. Far more water is being pumped out of the ground than nature can replace, especially because up to 69 percent of the annual rainfall washes through the valley and into the bay each year.

Conservationist John Muir forms the Sierra Club.

1895
Flooding occurs in the valley.

1896
Alviso's South Bay Yacht Club is officially formed and becomes a part of the Pacific InterClub Yacht Association. McKee Road is named for founder Joseph Olcott Mckee, the first official commodore of the yacht club. Another founder, Robert T. Trevey, owned a general store in Alviso, that "carried items that just couldn't be found in San Jose." The group builds its clubhouse in 1903 drawing on members' skills and donations of materials. It has to be relocated due to 15 feet of subsidence throughout the Santa Clara Valley and disastrous floods in 1983 that fill the clubhouse with 6 feet of water. The new site, about 100 yards north, is on higher ground, at about the same elevation at which the club was originally built.

1897-1899
The Santa Clara Valley receives less than 7 inches of rain, half its average rainfall. Farmers become concerned about irrigation, which is indispensable to the valley's fresh fruit industry.

1901
Theodore Roosevelt, who will leave a legacy as both a conservationist and father of the national parks system, is elected president.

1901
San Francisco Mayor James O. Phelan makes the first filing with the U.S. Department of the Interior for the use of the Hetch Hetchy Valley as a reservoir for the municipal water supply of his city. His request is turned down.

1902
The federal Reclamation Act establishes the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

1903-1904 and 1907-1908
After these two dry seasons, the cities of Campbell and Cupertino alone have up to 14,000 acres under irrigation. The trend of well digging and irrigation continues.

1906
A powerful earthquake rocks the greater Bay area.

1908
Secretary of the Interior James Garfield approves the city of San Francisco's application for the Hetch Hetchy reservoir and water distribution project.

1910-1911
In the winter, the Santa Clara Valley experiences its worst flooding on record. Four inches of rain fall in downtown San Jose in a 24-hour period.

1910-1913
A series of hearings are held to examine San Francisco's need for Hetch Hetchy as a water reservoir when other possible sources exist, such as Calaveras Dam.

1913
Congressman John E. Raker and Sen. Key Pittman of Nevada steer a bill through Congress. The Raker Act authorizes the use of Hetch Hetchy and Eleanor Creek as municipal water sources for the city of San Francisco. President Woodrow Wilson signs this bill on Dec. 19.

Campbell farmers unsuccessfully seek federal funds for irrigation and conservation. Two of the greatest hindrances to the conservation movement up to this time are the general belief that the water supply soon would replenish itself and a consequent reluctance to spend money to save water.

1914-1918
World War I breaks out; the United States does not enter the war until 1918.

1915
More than 8 billion gallons of water per year are pumped from beneath the Santa Clara Valley. The groundwater level drops rapidly.

1916
The National Park Service is established in the Department of the Interior with the edict "to preserve the natural and historic objects" in the parks. (In recent years this law has been instrumental in protecting the Grand Canyon from damming and flooding park-system lands in Grand Canyon National Monument.)

1917
Significant flooding occurs on the Guadalupe River.

1920
Women win the right to vote after Congress passes the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.

The annual rate of new wells being drilled in the Santa Clara Valley is 1,700 compared to 100 new wells in 1892. More than 67 percent of the valley is under irrigation, compared to 29 percent in 1912.

1921
San Francisco engineers Fred H. Tibbetts and Stephen E. Kieffer conduct an eight-month study to measure wells and look for suitable reservoir sites in the Santa Clara Valley. They also research average rainfall and water tables, climate and geology, and a proposed conservation system. Tibbetts and Kieffer's study, "Report to the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation Committee on the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation Project," recommends construction of 17 large reservoirs as well as low-check dams, pumping stations in the lowlands to divert the runoff, and a system of concrete conduits to distribute the conserved water. Their study shows that the diminishing groundwater in the valley could be replenished by artificial recharge-spreading water over gravelly areas to seep into the aquifers. Total cost of their proposal is $10,947,495.

1921 and 1925
In elections during both years, voters defeat proposals to create a water district.

The Water Conservation Committee is disbanded after the defeat of these proposals.

Leroy Anderson, a Saratoga orchardist and former professor of agriculture, assumes the role of primary water conservation advocate in the valley, leading the drive to prove the practicality of percolation.

1923
The O'Shaughnessy Dam is completed and the Tuolumne River floods the Hetch Hetchy Valley despite years of protest by John Muir and other preservationists. Some 390,000 cubic yards of concrete are poured, and more than six million board feet of lumber are cut within the park to complete the dam. The dam was built from 1914 to 1923, and then raised during another period of construction ending in 1938. Today the crest is 312 feet above the original streambed, and at high water the reservoir extends up the valley more than eight miles. Cost of construction was $12 million. The water is used to produce hydropower, and then travels 172 miles by aqueduct to San Francisco.

1926
Local farmers and the San Jose Chamber of Commerce band together to meet the challenge of water resource needs for the twentieth century. On Dec. 1, the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation Association is incorporated and elects a board of directors. Leroy Anderson is elected board president.

As stated in the Articles of Incorporation, the goals of the Association are as follows:

1. To conserve the surface and subsurface waters of Santa Clara Valley, State of California, by spreading the floodwaters of said valley over such lands adjacent to the stream channels of said valley as may be available for that purpose, and to that end;
2. To secure control of such land as may be necessary or desirable for such spreading, by purchase, lease, gift, donation, license or other methods, as may be found most desirable and feasible;
3. To construct, maintain and operate there on such works and structures as may be found most advantageous and desirable for water conservation purposes;
4. To prevent waste of artesian and subsurface waters of said Santa Clara Valley by the enforcement of the law of the State of California prohibiting the waste of such water and by securing evidence of such violation and by the prosecution of the violators of said law;
5. To use such other methods of conserving the floodwaters of Santa Clara Valley as the Board of Directors of the Association shall determine, none of the purposes of the Corporation being in any wise for pecuniary profit or financial gain of the Corporation or of any of its members;
6. To buy, hire, lease and accept gifts and donations of such necessary machinery, tools and equipment as shall be required in order to efficiently accomplish the purposes of water conservation.

The initial task of the Association is to continue the use of water percolation and construct six dams between 1926 and 1927. The first dams are not constructed, however, until 1935.

1927
A major drought hits the region. It lasts through 1934. This drought is later used as a measure for the storage and transfer capacity of all major water projects in the valley.

1928
The California Constitution is amended to require that all water use be "reasonable and beneficial."

1929
Election issues include a critical need for a reliable water supply, rising costs of pumping, and a negative report by F.M. Budlong of Campbell and Budlong, local manufacturers of deep well turbine pumps. They report the level of the underground aquifer has dropped from 60-70 feet in 1919 to 100 feet in 1924 and 128 feet in 1928 in Mountain View and Milpitas. Another issue is saltwater seepage from the San Francisco Bay. The Water Conservation (Jones) Act passes the state legislature. The creation of water conservation districts with limited power and jurisdiction, is now possible.

A proposal to create a local water conservation district is approved. Seven directors, all farmers, are elected. Leroy Anderson is named the first president. The goal of the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District, which incorporates in December, is to develop and manage a reliable water supply. The district includes about 350 square miles of the valley which overlays the groundwater basin between Coyote and Palo Alto. Its accomplishments include construction of six reservoirs by 1936 and two more by 1952.

Fruit and nut farming are now the chief industries of Santa Clara County, which becomes known around the world as the Valley of the Heart's Delight.

1930s
Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District (SCVWCD) pioneers the working design of an effective program of water conservation that relies on trapping and storing rainwater.

1931
SCVWCD furnishes the state highway department with a map indicating a future dam and reservoir near Lexington on Los Gatos Creek.

Herbert Hoover is elected 31st president of the United States. The nation begins an economic plunge that will become known as the Great Depression.

The first State Water Plan is published, outlining utilization of water resources on a statewide basis.

1932
On Nov. 7, SCVWCD applies for a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) grant of $683,000. This amount covers 30 per cent of the total cost of six dams, reservoirs and necessary canals. Confirmation of the grant is received on June 30, 1934, following approval of the plan and voter approval to sell bonds.

1933
When SCVWCD directors learn that a new highway is to be built through the possible Lexington reservoir site, they request the state highway department to build the road at a higher elevation, and offer to pay the cost of that part of the freeway that would be submerged by the dam and reservoir. Their request is denied and the state proceeds to build the highway as planned.

The federal Central Valley Project Act passes. Its goal is to protect the Central Valley from crippling water shortages and menacing floods. (The project objectives have since been expanded to include provision of agricultural irrigation and urban water; production of commercial power; flood protection; navigation: benefits for fish and wildlife; recreation; and water quality.)

1934
Voters approve an initial bond issue of $2 million to construct the district's first six dams and reservoirs: Almaden, Calero, Coyote, Guadalupe, Stevens Creek and Vasona.

The county's first imported water becomes available when the San Francisco Water Department completes the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct, and several turnouts are installed in the Santa Clara Valley.

1934-1935
The water district works with Reed, Atkinson and Moore, a realty board, to acquire lands for the five original reservoirs. All are completed by 1935, except Coyote which is situated on the Hayward Fault. After plans are redesigned, Coyote Reservoir is completed in 1936.

A brief description of dam construction includes:

• Grubbing and clearing
• Stripping or removal of soil to a depth of 10-30 feet to a suitable rock foundation
• Constructing outfall pipe, used for release of water
• Excavating cutoff trench; providing seal or bond to prevent seepage of water
• Construction of inlet pipe and housing
• Grouting program; drilling, routing, and filling the cutoff trench
• Raising the dam
  

1937
The Rivers and Harbors Act passes, authorizing the construction of the initial features of the Central Valley Project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

1938
The South Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District is founded Aug. 1. This district begins building percolationfacilities on area creeks. The district's goal is to prevent land subsidence (sinking ground); cracked well casings, which result from subsidence; the drying up of wells; and the reduction of creeks' floodwater capacity. Its responsibilities include managing the groundwater. Its accomplishments include construction of Chesbro and Uvas reservoirs.

The O'Shaughnessy Dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley is raised an additional 86 feet producing a final reservoir area of 1,972 acres with a volume of more than 117 billion gallons.

1939
World War II breaks out. It ends in 1945.

1940-1946
Another major drought hits the Santa Clara Valley. Average rainfall drops to 13.61 inches per year and water levels fall in all reservoirs and waterways.

1940-1950
The population in the county jumps from 30,000 in 1940 to 90,000 in 1948, to 291,000 in 1950. Groundwater levels drop due to increased agriculture, industry and residential construction. Land subsidence increases due to over-pumping. As a result, the concept of the San Felipe Project, which taps into water from the Central Valley, is born.

1941
The United States enters World War II on Dec. 7, after Japanese war planes attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

1945
World War II ends bringing an influx of military personnel and civilians into the valley. Industrial development and urban expansion rapidly increase and local water resources are inadequate.

1947
Voters pass a $2.5 million bond to build Lexington Reservoir. Construction is completed in 1952. Delays include the rerouting of Highway 17, relocation of the Lexington and Alma communities, and legal disputes with San Jose Water Works over purchase of the property. An additional bond of $850,000 is necessary due to the delays.

California Gov. Goodwin Knight supports the project.

1949
Voters pass a $3 million bond to complete Anderson Reservoir, located on Coyote Creek. It is finished in 1950. Its capacity of 89,000 acre-feet is more than all the other district reservoirs combined. No federal or state money is used.

1949
California Gov. Earl Warren supports the project to build Anderson Dam. Citizens living in the Morgan Hill area form the Central Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District. Its responsibilities include obtaining water rights on Coyote Creek and managing groundwater. This district is annexed to SCVWCD on Aug. 19, 1954, with the former district's voters' approval.

The current State Water Resources Control Board is established. This state board controls water quality through regional boards and settles water rights disputes.

1950 and 1952
The SCVWCD builds Anderson and Lexington dams. These two storage facilities nearly triple local reservoir capacity.

1950s
Tri-County Water Authority is created by the state legislature to study and make recommendations for importing water into Santa Clara, San Benito, Alameda, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. The authority was dissolved in 1966 after identifying the need to build the San Felipe Project.

1951
State Sen. John F. Thompson, a native of Santa Clara County, long-time farmer, and former assemblyman, authors legislation that creates the Santa Clara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. Its goals are to protect the county from flooding and supplement local water supply with water imported from outside the valley. Its boundaries encompass the entire 1,310 square miles of Santa Clara County.

The state authorizes the Feather River Project Act, later to become the State Water Project.

The first deliveries from Shasta Dam, a component of the Central Valley Water Project, arrive in the San Joaquin Valley.

1952
The first cloud seeding begins in an effort to increase the average rainfall in the valley. Iodide crystals are shot from the ground into the clouds.

The Santa Clara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District is formed by the county Board of Supervisors through an act of the state legislature. The district's responsibilities include flood control and management of the county's drainage. It divides the county into 20 flood zones, each a drainage area embracing residential developments in the still unincorporated areas.

The concept of the Guadalupe River Flood Control Project is born.

Lexington Dam is completed.

1954
The Central Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District is annexed to the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District.

1955
The 20 flood zones are abandoned in favor of five zones. Each zone is a separate fiscal entity:

The Northwest Zone embraces Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View. It covers the watersheds of San Francisquito, Matadero and Adobe creeks and their tributaries.

The North Central Zone includes Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Saratoga, Cupertino and portions of Los Gatos and San Jose. Natural creeks in this zone are Saratoga, Calabazas and San Tomas Aquino, but two artificial channels are constructed by the district to provide a drainage outfall for a large area in Sunnyvale between Calabazas Creek and Stevens Creek. They are called Sunnyvale West and Sunnyvale East Channels and empty into Guadalupe Slough and Moffett Channel, respectively.

The Central Zone handles drainage from San Jose and Los Gatos, with Los Gatos and Alamitos creeks plus Guadalupe River drainage basin defining the zone boundaries.

The Coyote Creek watershed determines the boundaries of the East Zone which include Anderson and Coyote reservoirs.

The South Zone covers the Llagas and Uvas-Carnadero Creek watersheds of the Pajaro River.

In south county, the South Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District builds the Chesbro Dam on Llagas Creek. This dam, completed in November, creates a reservoir with a capacity of 7,500 acre-feet.

The "Christmas Week" floods leave thousands homeless. The Guadalupe River floods 8,300 acres and causes more than $1.3 million in damages (1985 dollars). Since World War II, 14 floods have occurred on the Guadalupe. The flood of 1955 is the worst in recorded history. More recently, the Guadalupe flooded in 1982, 1983, 1986 and 1995. The average annual runoff into the river is estimated to be 35,500 acre-feet. In San Jose's wettest year on record, 1938, runoff into the Guadalupe totaled 123,000 acre-feet. The drainage basin that feeds the Guadalupe covers about 160 square miles of the western Santa Clara Valley. On the western perimeter, the basin rises to about 3,800 feet above sea level. About 40 percent of the basin lies below the 400-foot elevation mark and is highly urbanized. Currently there are almost 6,000 structures in the river's 500-year floodplain; more than 4,000 of these are within the 100-year floodplain (about 3,000 homes and 1,000 commercial and industrial buildings). The replacement value of all the structures and their contents within the 500-year floodplain is estimated at about $7 billion in today's dollars.

1950-1960
The valley's population swells to 642,000.

1956
San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant is constructed. The plant's original capacity is 36 million gallons per day (mgd) providing only basic or primary treatment of wastewater. Today, it handles 167 mgd, and provides a high level of tertiary-treated wastewater that meets Title 22 standards of the California Code of Regulations for reclamation. Water discharged from the plant approaches drinking water standards.

1957
The South Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District builds Uvas Dam to bolster its recharge efforts.

The State Department of Water Resources develops an $8 billion California Water Plan, one of the world's largest water redistribution systems.

1961
SCVWCD, designated by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to be the local agency for water importation, contracts with the state for water from the planned South Bay Aqueduct. The first delivery is scheduled for 1965.

1962
Rachel Carson publishes "Silent Spring," a landmark call to protect the environment from dangerous pesticides.

Voters approve a $42.5 million bond issue to cover the cost of 61 miles of in-county water distribution pipelines ranging from 36 inches to 96 inches in diameter and also two water treatment plants.

1964
Groundwater pumping taxes begin. Santa Clara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District begins construction of the Central Pipeline and initiates a groundwater charge (pump tax). Meanwhile, SCVWCD begins applying groundwater charges. The need for uniform groundwater charges quickly becomes evident.

Santa Clara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District changes its name to Santa Clara County Flood Control and Water District (eliminating the word ÒconservationÓ).

1965
The state of California begins delivering water to Santa Clara County via the 72-inch South Bay Aqueduct, which brings water about 40 miles from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to a point about six miles inside the northern county boundary. By the time the imported water reaches the aqueduct terminus, the network of pipelines to annually distribute about 80,000 acre-feet of raw water to percolation ponds and surface irrigation systems is complete. Massive amounts of imported water are put in the groundwater basin. The district today has additional percolation ponds and three treatment plants on line, and is drawing its maximum entitlement of 100,000 acre-feet per year.
The SCVWCD imports water in the Bay Area because there is not enough to serve a growing population. The Bay Area is a semi-arid region; with a limited annual rainfall of 10 to 20 inches per year, often less. In comparison, the average precipitation (including snow, etc.) in the midwest is 100 to 200 inches per year. Most of the water in California, about 80 percent, is used for agriculture. California has the largest water transport system in the world. Most of the state, except the northernmost areas, import water.

1967
The San Felipe Project, an idea originally conceived in the 1940s by the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, is authorized by Congress.
The valley's first treatment plant, Rinconada Water Treatment Plant, goes into service in Los Gatos, with a capacity to produce 80 million gallons of drinking water daily. Its purification process is upflow clarifier-flocculators and dual-media filters. The source of water for the plant is the South Bay Aqueduct via the Central Pipeline and the Rinconada Force Main, or San Felipe Project water via the Almaden Valley Pipeline.

1968
Santa Clara County supervisors recognize the need for specialized knowledge to oversee the construction and operation of water and flood control facilities, along with administering pump fees. They approve the merging of the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District and the Santa Clara County Flood Control and Water District. The new agency retains the SCVWCD's elected board and adds two supervisorial appointees. The two staffs are combined, and a countywide agricultural advisory committee and a water commission, including representatives from water retail agencies, are established. The merger enables integrated water resource management, addressing both water supply and flood control through one agency, and eliminates duplication of effort.

1968
The state completes construction of Oroville Dam.

1969
Land subsidence is halted through ongoing imported water deliveries. The groundwaterm basin is replenished.

1972
The federal government passes the Clean Water Act which sets two main goals: To address the largest and most obvious sources of pollution and to restore and maintain water quality. Congress defines "clean waters" as water in which it is safe to swim and which supports fish that can be safely eaten.

The California Legislature passes the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to preserve the north coast's remaining free-flowing rivers from development.

The Federal Endangered Species Act is enacted. This act will have lasting impact on environmental issues for years to come.

1974
Santa Clara County Flood Control and Water District changes its name to the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD).

In July, Penitencia Water Treatment Plant, located in the East San Jose foothills just north of Penitencia Creek, comes on line. This treatment plant can deliver peak flows of 40 million gallons per day of potable water. Its purification process includes flow-through flocculation-sedimentation and multi-media filters. Its water source is the South Bay Aqueduct.

Congress passes the Safe Drinking Water Act. California voters approve the Clean Water Grant Program to build waste water treatment facilities.

1976
Santa Clara County's system of dams and reservoirs is recognized as an historic landmark by the San Francisco section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The project is cited as the first and only instance of a major water supply being developed in a single groundwater basin. It involves the control of numerous independent tributaries to conserve most of the sources of water flowing into the basin.

Linda Peralta, the first woman to serve on the water district board of directors, begins her term of office. She serves the district until 1982.

1976-1977
These are historic drought years. Deliveries from the State Water Project during this time are not only reduced, but contain a salt content so high that percolation into the groundwater is impossible.

The district's water conservation education program is established. Public conservation efforts achieve 22 percent less water usage in 1977 than in 1976.

1977
The Palo Alto Water Reclamation Facility is dedicated, and the Gilroy Water Reclamation Facility goes into operation.

A contract is signed for San Felipe water with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Voters pass a $56 million bond to expand water distribution systems. The project is completed in 1987.

1978
The San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant adds advanced processes including additional filtration and disinfection so treated effluent from the plant can be recycled on a limited basis. Since 1978, 5 million gallons per day have been recycled for industrial cooling and to irrigate treatment plant landscaping.
The State Water Resource Control Board issues water rights decision #1485, establishing water quality standards for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

1979
SCVWD celebrates its 50th year of service to Santa Clara County.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation begins construction of the San Felipe Project.

1980
The South County Water Conservation District renames itself the Gavilan Water Conservation District.

1982
Two years of major flooding begin on Jan. 3 when the fifth in a series of severe storms traps more than 100 people on top of their cars and homes and causes mudslides capable of collapsing houses in the Santa Cruz mountains.

Voters approve flood control benefit assessments for 10 years subject to a limit of 2 percent annual rate increase.

Construction begins on Lower Llagas Creek Flood Control Project.

1983
Construction begins on the Coyote Creek Flood Control Project.

1984
In November, voters authorize issuance of water utility revenue bonds as needed.

1986
San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant facilities are upgraded and a truck filling station is added. Passage of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Proposition 65) prohibits the discharge of toxic chemicals into state waters.

1987
The Santa Clara Valley Water District annexes the Gavilan Water Conservation District with approval of Gavilan voters. The SCVWD takes over ownership and operation of the Chesbro and Uvas reservoirs. The benefits of the annexation include putting all county dams, reservoirs and percolation facilities under one agency's control; enabling releases from reservoirs to be coordinated for maximum benefit; elimination of administrative overhead duplication; a nd lower pump taxes to Gavilan-area well owners.

First deliveries of San Felipe water are made to the Santa Clara Valley.

A five-year drought begins. The state Department of Water Resources estimates the cost of the drought to be $1 billion in lost agricultural revenues, fishery and timber losses, and energy price increases.

The Clean Water Act is amended to include nonpoint source pollution assessment reports and management programs.

1989
The Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant, located in south San Jose, begins operation. Its peak treatment capacity is 100 million gallons per day. The purification process includes flow-through flocculation-sedimentation and multi-mediafilters. The Almaden Valley pipeline brings water from the San Luis Reservoir to the plant.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), headquartered in San Francisco, determine that freshwater discharges from the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant are converting nearby salt marshes to freshwater marshes, thus threatening the habitat of two endangered speciesÑthe salt marsh harvest mouse and a bird called the California clapper rail.

The Environmental Protection Agency requires every city with a population exceeding 100,000 to apply for a special permit regulating stormwater flows into natural bodies of water. The permit requires the development of a storm-water management plan to identify specific measures and activities to eliminate or control pollutants in rain water or runoff.

1990
The State Water Resources Control Board lists the South Bay as impaired because water quality standards for heavy metals are frequently exceeded. The Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program is established. The program is a consortium of 13 cities, the Santa Clara Valley Water District and Santa Clara County. The groups work together to implement programs to control storm water pollution. The participants include Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale.

1991
San Jose adopts an action plan to address the marsh conversion problem. The plan calls for:

• Purchasing and restoring South Bay salt marsh properties to mitigate past saltwater-to-freshwater conversion;
• Developing programs to advance potable water conservation so as to reduce the wastewater influent flows;
• Developing a water recycling program to reduce effluent discharge to the San Francisco Bay.
  

A state drought water bank is established.

1991
The Regional Water Quality Control Plant in Palo Alto develops an advanced treatment system that provides up to 1.5 million gallons per day (mgd) of reclaimed water suitable for park land, school yard and landscape irrigation including residential lawns, under guidelines of state and county health departments. Three additional steps are added to the wastewater treatment process: coagulation, a second filtration process and extended disinfection. These processes provide all the treatment needed to meet California's highest irrigation standards for reclaimed water. Approximately 2 percent of the RWQCP's annual average flow is currently "recycled" and used for irrigation. The reclaimed water contains more salt than the area's potable water.

1992
Construction begins on the Guadalupe River Flood Control Project through downtown San Jose, which also incorporates the Guadalupe River Park.

A massive program to stencil the "No Dumping, Flows to Bay" message on the 75,000 storm drains in Santa Clara County begins. Most drains are labeled by 1996.

Cloud seeding from the ground is replaced by seeding with airplanes. Planes with iodide crystals on their wings fly into clouds. This causes water droplets to become denser, and so squeezes more water out of the clouds. Cloud seeding remains a drought-fighting strategy for the district.

Bill Clinton is elected President of the United States.

1993
The Milpitas pipeline is completed.

1994
The EPA announces that two-thirds of the nation's rivers are safe for fishing and swimming. (See The Lindsay Museum's "Changing The Course of California's Water: The Impact of Polluted Runoff on Our Aquatic Resources and Responsible Actions We Can Take" for a discussion of nonpoint source pollution.)

1994
The report on National Water Quality by the EPA identifies urban runoff/storm sewers as the number one source of pollution in the United States followed by municipal waste water treatment plants, agriculture, industrial point sources and petroleum activities. In 1992, urban runoff ranked second.

Stan Williams is appointed general manager of the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

The $37 million Phase I of the Gilroy Treatment Plant is completed.

1995
The South Bay Water Recycling Project begins in the cities of San Jose, Santa Clara and Milpitas. Phase I is scheduled to include construction of 100 miles of pipeline in a 30-mile area in the cities of San Jose, Santa Clara and Milpitas. It will provide 20 million gallons per day of non-potable (non-drinkable) water. Expansion of the system in Phase II will increase the non-potable capacity to 50 million gallons a day by December 2000, and it will cost $330 million. As an alternative, the city is currently investigating the feasibility of other types of water reuse at comparable costs.
Late spring storms do more than $650 million in damage to agriculture throughout the state.

In December, the Lower Llagas Creek Flood Control Project and Coyote Creek Flood Control Project are completed.

1996
Since 1989, the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant has supplied more than 10 million gallons a day of recycled water to construction sites.

There are 20 systems of percolation ponds throughout the county. All are listed in the district's brochure, Water Supply & Distribution Facilities.

Lexington Dam is renamed James J. Lenihan Dam at Lexington Reservoir.

1997
January storms cause the largest flooding throughout the state, many say, since dams and levees were constructed. Forty-two counties are declared disaster areas and Gov. Pete Wilson calls a special session of the Legislature to expedite handling flood-relief legislation. Flows into many of the state's reservoirs - which are at 90 percent of their capacity - are 15 to 20 percent higher than any on record.

Floods cost farmers more than $297 million in damage.

Phase I of the South Bay Water Recycling Project is targeted for completion at a cost of $140 million.

1998
Santa Clara Valley Water District celebrates the 30th anniversary of the merger of the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District and the Santa Clara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.

1998
In February, Santa Clara County is declared a disaster area due to flooding. More than 1.1 million sandbags are distributed throughout the county. All 10 district reservoirs are spilling. More than 40 homes are flooded in Milpitas. Heavy rains cause evacuation along San Francisquito and Calabazas creeks.

Damage, emergency response and emergency warning measures in the wake of the Feb. 2 and 3 storm and flood cost the city of Palo Alto $2.1 million. East Palo Alto suffers $338,000 in damage to public property and emergency expenses, and Menlo Park expects its bill to top $300,000.

May's 13th day of rain breaks all previous monthly rainfall records.