Water Treatment
Improvement Project

The water district is in the middle of major renovations at each of our three water treatment plants. The changes will allow us to provide an even higher quality drinking water to residents of Santa Clara County.

When the project is completed in 2010, you may notice a significant improvement in the taste and odor of your drinking water. Instead of relying on chlorination to disinfect the water, we will switch to ozone which has no unpleasant taste yet is an even more effective disinfectant.

Construction at Penitencia in 2001

The project includes work at each of the district's three water treatment plants, conducted in two phases. The first phase is complete. Phase 2 construction started in 2002 with all work scheduled to be completed by 2010.

The project is the district's response to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and the Environmental Protection Agency's call for more stringent water quality regulations.

Specifically, the first phase of the project provides changes to help us comply with the first stage of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new Disinfectant/Disinfection Byproducts Rule and Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, while maintaining a safe and reliable system and aesthetically pleasing water.

With ozonation, we will reduce trihalomethanes, or THMs, a byproduct of chorination. During the warmest times of the year when algae can cause unpleaseant tastes and odors, ozonation will also enhance the flavor of the finished water.

• Download our ozonation fact sheet [PDF 172 KB]

For construction details, visit the project page for each of the treatment plants:

• Rinconada
• Santa Teresa
• Penitencia