The Reliability Improvement Project is aimed at retrofitting, upgrading and/or replacing key equipment that is reaching the end of its natural life, addressing the areas of raw water ozone, flocculation and sedimentation. Filtration and redundant disinfection.
The work will also increase the plant’s treatment capacity from 80 million gallons of water a day to 100 million gallons a day and help the district meet increasingly stringent standards for water quality, seismic stability and safety.
Oak planting begins this month
Biologists will replant oak seedlings on an empty 2.6-acre hillside just above the sludge ponds near the Granada Way gate entrance. This work, known as the Oak Woodland Project, will lead to the sprouting of approximately 376 oak trees over the next few years. The new planting offsets the removal of 179 trees for the treatment plant’s Reliability Improvement Project.
The work will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and be completed in January 2020. The crew will plant three different species of oak trees: Approximately 40 Blue Oak, 216 Valley Oak and 120 Coast Live Oak. These trees can grow to heights of 50 to 80-feet tall. Planting the trees is part of Valley Water permit requirements with the town of Los Gatos that requires replacement of trees taken out at various locations around the property due to the Reliability Improvement Project.
Current status
Valley Water is more than halfway through the second phase of the Reliability Improvement Project, which involves the construction of several facilities. Those include the raw water ozone contactor, flash mix facility, flocculation and sedimentation basins, wash water recovery facility and temporary water piping. Valley Water will begin the project's most impactful phase in early 2020.
Contractors working on the project are no longer using Granada Way to access the treatment plant. The workers are now using the lower gate on More Avenue to enter and exit the facility. Only trucks making deliveries or hauling off material stored at the plant near the Granada gate can use the entrance.
Saturday work at the treatment plant will continue as the water district steps up efforts to complete the project in a timely and safe fashion. Since July 2018, the district has allowed contractors to work Saturdays between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Some restrictions are in place out of consideration for our neighbors, including:
- No construction truck or tractor work outside of buildings, including dump trucks, backhoes, jackhammers or other motorized equipment.
- No outside construction lighting or outside generator operations.
- No use of the Granada gate.
Public meeting videos available on You Tube
Valley Water held its quarterly public meeting on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 on the Reliability Improvement Project. A video of the meeting is now available on our You Tube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1jDvRO4q2A
For any questions, please contact the water treatment plant's neighborhood liaison, Tony Mercado, at 408-630-2342 or via email at [email protected]
Known as the Reliability Improvement Project, this endeavor will replace or upgrade all major plant components and increase Rinconada’s treatment capacity to 100 million gallons of water a day. These enhancements will also result in improved taste for your drinking water. The Project includes the design and construction of new facilities, including raw water ozonation, flocculation and plate settler clarification and dual media filtration. This work will also help the district meet increasingly stringent standards for water quality, seismic stability and safety.
This completed project will use the following steps in drinking water treatment:
- Raw Water Ozone
- Flocculation and Sedimentation
- Filtration
- Redundant disinfection
The Rinconada Water Treatment Plant is the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s oldest treatment plant, having provided continuous and reliable service since 1967. The facility is a source of pride in the organization and this retrofit is the largest capital improvement project ever constructed by the District. Including the planning, design and construction, the project will cost approximately $300 million.
This work is about one thing: Ensuring the plant continues to consistently and uninterruptedly fulfill its role as the major provider of drinking water to more than one million people on Santa Clara County’s west side.