Protecting Your Water
The water in our groundwater basin, our 10 reservoirs and in the creeks is a precious resource. The water district manages this resource to ensure that we will always have a reliable supply of healthy, clean drinking water.
In 2008, the water district opened a new $17.5 million “state-of-the-art” water quality laboratory to meet increasing needs for water sampling and ever more rigorous testing. It replaced a lab which was built in 1968 when the water district tested 1,000 samples annually. Today, the water district tests approximately 140,000 samples a year.
Both the treated water and “raw” imported water require constant monitoring to assure their safety. Many of those tests are in response to new water-quality regulations for “emerging” contaminants, such as cryptosporidium. The water district produces monthly water quality report showing the quality of untreated source water received at each of the district's three water treatment plants, and the treated water which the district delivers to water retailers in Santa Clara Valley.
- Because of the importance of our groundwater basin, the water district monitors groundwater quality through sampling water from a number of deep wells located throughout the county.
- Urban runoff contributes to our water quality. The water district participates in the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program to help prevent it.
- The Leaking Underground Storage Tank Oversight Program was transferred to the Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health July 1, 2004. DEH files on leaking underground storage tanks have been transferred to the State Water Resources Control Board's GeoTracker database. For more information, see:
- County's file review page.The county maintains the electronic case files.
- Solvent and toxic release cases overseen by various regulatory agencies