Monthly Water Tracker

As of October 2022

Based on continued drought conditions across California, imported water allocations remain low. The State Water Project allocation is at 5% of contract amount and the Central Valley Project allocation is zero. Both the State Water Project and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation have allocated Valley Water with emergency public health and safety water supplies. Santa Clara County continues to be in a water shortage emergency. Due to severe drought and increased reliance on imported water in the next 10 years while Anderson Reservoir storage is unavailable, meeting the Board of Directors call for 15% water use reduction relative to 2019 is essential. Valley Water Board of Directors approved an ordinance to enforce water waste restrictions on May 24, 2022, and passed an amendment on September 13, 2022, banning irrigation of commercial, industrial, and institutional non-functional turf.

Weather

• Rainfall in Santa Clara County
  • Month of September, City of San José: 0.51 inches
• Rainfall year total = 0.51 inches or 184% of average to date (rainfall year is July 1 to June 30)
• San José average daily high temperature was 84.4 degrees Fahrenheit in September, which is lower than the five-year average for September (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit)

Local Reservoirs

Current local reservoir storage

• Total October 1 storage: 28,469 acre-feet

  
• No imported water delivered into Calero Reservoir during September 2022
• Total estimated releases to streams (local and imported water) during September were 3,860 acre-feet (based on preliminary hydrologic data)

Groundwater

Groundwater levels are stabilizing or increasing in some areas because of recent increases in managed recharge (made possible by emergency imported water supplies) and ongoing water conservation by the community. Water levels in the majority of wells are currently higher than September 2021, however water levels in some areas remain lower than last year. The end of 2022 groundwater storage is projected to be in low Stage 1 (Normal) of the Water Shortage Contingency Plan. Valley Water continues to plan for dry and rapidly evolving conditions

Imported Water

• In September, the State Water Project operated Banks pumping plant with an average daily production of 1,670 AF, resulting in a total export of 48,427 AF from the delta
• In September, the Central Valley Project operated Jones pumping plant with an average daily production of 4,767 AF, resulting in a total export of 138,254 AF from the delta
• There were no interruptions to delta pumping operations, due to water quality or otherwise, during the month of September
  

Click here to find the State-Wide Reservoir Storage map and table

Treated Water

• Below average demands of 9,060 acre-feet delivered in September
• This total is 83% of the five-year average for the month of September
• Year-to-date deliveries are 71,380 acre-feet or 90% of the five-year average

Conserved Water

• Saved 76,584 acre-feet in FY21 through Valley Water's long-term conservation 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
• On June 9, 2021, the Board called for a 15% reduction in water use compared to 2019 and for retailers, cities, and the County to implement local water restrictions.  On May 24, 2022, the Board approved an ordinance to enforce outdoor water waste restrictions against runoff, midday watering, and watering after rainfall, and a limit of two days a week of watering for non-functional turf. On September 13, 2022, the ordinance was amended to include the State’s ban against watering commercial, industrial, and institutional non-functional turf as an enforceable restriction
• The water savings achieved are shown in the table below
  

Recycled Water

• Estimated September 2022 production = 1,924 acre-feet
• Estimated year-to-date through September = 13,819 acre-feet or 102% of the five-year average
• Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center produced an estimated 1.7 billion gallons (5,150 acre-feet) of purified water in 2021.  Since the beginning of 2022, about 3,850 acre-feet of purified water has been produced.  The purified water is blended with existing tertiary recycled water for South Bay Water Recycling Program customers

Alternative Sources

• As of December 10, 2019, Valley Water's wastewater contract right from Palo Alto/Mountain View remains at 11,200 acre-feet/year