Monthly Water Tracker

As of January 1, 2020

We ended calendar year 2019 with groundwater storage essentially full, given a relatively full groundwater reservoir at the end of 2018 and above normal local rainfall and statewide snow pack in 2019.

Weather

• Rainfall in Santa Clara County
• Month of December, City of San Jose: 2.67 inches
• Rainfall year total = 4.17 inches or 84% of average to date (rainfall year is July 1 to June 30)
• January 2 Northern Sierra snowpack was 77% of normal for this date

Local Reservoirs

Current local reservoir storage

• Total January 1 storage: 56,644 acre-feet

  • 77% of 20-year average for that date
  • 34% of total capacity
  • 51% of restricted capacity (166,266 acre-feet total storage capacity limited by seismic restrictions to 111,421 acre-feet)
• No imported water delivered into local reservoirs during December 2019
• Total estimated releases to streams (local and imported water) during December was 5,770 acre-feet (based on preliminary hydrologic data)

Groundwater

Groundwater conditions are very healthy, with total storage at the end of 2019 in Stage 1 (Normal) of Valley Water’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan

Imported Water

• As of January 6, 2020, the Statewide Average snowpack water equivalent is 84% of the historic average for this date
• Initial 2020 State Water Project (SWP) and Central Valley Project (CVP) allocations:
  • 2020 SWP allocation of 10%, which provides 10,000 acre-feet to Valley Water
  • 2020 South-of-Delta CVP allocations have not yet been identified
• Statewide reservoir storage information, as of January 5, 2020:
  • Shasta Reservoir at 73% of capacity (116% of average for this date)
  • Oroville Reservoir at 59% of capacity (95% of average for this date)
  • San Luis Reservoir at 65% of capacity (93% of average for this date)
• Valley Water's Semitropic groundwater bank reserves are at 100% of capacity, or 349,970 acre-feet as of November 30, 2019
• Estimated SFPUC deliveries to Santa Clara County:
  • Projected month of November = 4,396 acre-feet
  • 2019 Total to Date = 43,393 acre-feet
  • Five-year annual average is 48,700 acre-feet
• Board Governance Policy No. EL-5.3.3 includes keeping the Board informed of imported water management activities on an ongoing basis.  In calendar year 2019, six imported water management agreements were executed as of December 31, 2019

Treated Water

• Above average demands of 5,725 acre-feet delivered in December
• This total is 110% of the five-year average for the month of December
• Year-to-date deliveries = 102,012 acre-feet or 103% of the five-year average

Conserved Water

• Saved 73,531 acre-feet in FY19 from long-term program (baseline year is 1992)
• Long-term program goal is to save nearly 100,000 acre-feet by 2030 and 110,000 acre-feet by 2040
• The Board continues its call for a 20% reduction and a limit of three days per week for irrigation of ornamental landscape with potable water
• Through November, achieved a 20% reduction in water use in calendar year 2019, compared to 2013

Recycled Water

• Estimated December 2019 production = 800 acre-feet
• Estimated Year-to-Date through December = 17,200 acre-feet or 90% of the five-year average
• Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center produced an estimated 1.3 billion gallons (4,100 acre-feet) of purified water in 2018 and  4,650 acre-feet in 2019.  The purified water is blended with existing tertiary recycled water for South Bay Water Recycling Program's customers