The Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant is one of three water treatment plants in the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s system. It produces safe drinking water to most of South San Jose - Almaden Valley, Blossom Valley and Santa Teresa - supplying water to residential and commercial users. The plant can also serve the majority of the Penitencia Water Treatment Plant’s service area when needed.
As the largest of the water district’s three treatment plants, Santa Teresa can treat and deliver up to 100 million gallons of water per day. Most of the water coming into this plant is imported from San Luis Reservoir, a key component of the federal Central Valley Project. Water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is pumped into the Delta-Mendota Canal and then into the San Luis Reservoir. The water district is one of many users that draw water from this reservoir. The Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant is also fed from the district’s local supplies at Anderson and Calero reservoirs.
The Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant opened in 1989, integrating the use of ozone into its water treatment process to improve the district’s drinking water quality. Ozone is an excellent addition to the drinking water treatment process because it is a very strong disinfectant yet creates less disinfection byproducts than chlorine. Disinfection byproducts at high levels can be a health concern. Upgrades to the plant were completed in the spring of 2006.
Contact information
If you have any questions or concerns about the Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant, please contact Neighborhood Liaison Tony Mercado at (408) 630-2342 or by e-mail at [email protected].