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Water Treatment Plants

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Penitencia Water Treatment Plant

The Santa Clara Valley Water District operates three water treatment plants that clean and disinfect imported water and/or water captured in four of our local reservoirs.

Rinconada Water Treatment Plant

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Rinconada Water Treatment Plant

The Rinconada Water Treatment Plant is the second-largest of the Santa Clara Valley Water District's plants. Completed in 1967 by the Santa Clara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District - the precursor to today's water district - the plant can treat and deliver up to 80 million gallons of water each day for retailers who supply residential and commercial users in the West Valley, including the cities of Santa Clara, Campbell, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Mountain View, Monte Sereno, Saratoga and Los Altos and the towns of Los Gatos and Los Altos Hills. 

Water source
Rinconada draws water from the South Bay Aqueduct (SBA) and the San Luis Reservoir. The San Luis Reservoir is a key component of the federal Central Valley Project while the SBA is a key component of the State Water Project system. Water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pumps 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 water district's local Anderson and Calero reservoirs can also supply the plant. 

Contact information
If you have any questions or concerns about the Rinconada Water Treatment Plant, please contact Neighborhood Liaison Tony Mercado at (408) 630-2342 or by e-mail at [email protected].

If an urgent problem arises after regular business hours, please call the on-duty plant supervisor at (408) 265-2607, ext. 2121.

Penitencia Water Treatment Plant

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Penitencia Water Treatment Plant

The Penitencia Water Treatment Plant is the smallest of the three water treatment plants in the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s system. 

Service area
This plant typically serves an area from Milpitas in the north to Aborn Road in the south, supplying safe drinking water to 270,000 residential and commercial users.

Water source
The South Bay Aqueduct, owned by the California Department of Water Resources, provides most of the water to the Penitencia plant. Water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is pumped into the California Aqueduct and then into the South Bay Aqueduct (SBA) in Tracy. The SBA pipeline runs through the Livermore Valley and terminates at the Penitencia plant.

Capacity: Penitencia can treat and deliver up to 40 million gallons of water per day.

Date first operated: 1974

Plant Improvements 
The Penitencia Water Treatment Plant is the latest plant to integrate the use of ozone gas in 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. The use of ozone reduces the formation of chlorination byproducts.  Disinfection byproducts at high levels can be a health concern.  Ozone upgrades to the plant were completed in 2006. Landscape improvements, screens, façade panels and a new entrance were added in 2008.

Contact information
If you have any questions or concerns about the Penitencia Water Treatment Plant, please contact Neighborhood Liaison Jose Villarreal at (408) 630-2879, or by e-mail at [email protected].

The Santa Clara Valley Water District is committed to providing a healthy, clean, reliable and affordable water supply that meets or exceeds all applicable water quality regulatory standards in a cost-effective manner.

Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant

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Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant

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].

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Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant