Valley Water has been assessing the proposed expansion of Pacheco Reservoir for several years. Throughout this process, our Board of Directors has received regular updates from staff regarding the project, which has encountered several challenges.
After careful consideration and assessment, my fellow board members and I have determined that proceeding with the Pacheco project is not in Valley Water’s best interest at this time. This was a difficult decision, but one we made with our community’s long-term water affordability in mind.
One of the greatest challenges is the escalating cost of the project. Like all public agencies, Valley Water is facing rising costs due to inflation across all of our infrastructure projects. Our Board’s responsibility is to balance water reliability with affordability, and we are deeply concerned that moving forward with Pacheco would place too great a burden on our ratepayers without cost-effective benefits.
We are thankful to the California Water Commission for its trust in Valley Water for conditionally awarding us $504 million through the Prop 1 Water Storage Investment Program (WSIP). Valley Water allocated a small portion of this funding for various evaluations, including geotechnical investigations and other assessments. However, in light of the decision today, our agency will be withdrawing from the WSIP. We hope that will enable the Water Commission to follow past practice and redirect the funds to other projects across the state.
Maintaining and rehabilitating our aging infrastructure is our priority to ensure safe and reliable water supply operations. Our agency will continue to evaluate numerous other water supply and infrastructure projects that could help meet Santa Clara County’s future water needs. Through our agency’s Water Supply Master Plan, we are studying the benefits and feasibility of these opportunities.
I want to thank the many Valley Water staff and consultants who worked diligently on the Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project and kept us informed throughout the process. Their effort was key to keeping our board informed during the project's evaluation.