Monthly Water Tracker

As of September 2023

Thanks to healthy winter storms, Santa Clara County’s drought classification was changed in March from Abnormally Dry to “None.” Valley Water received 100% allocations of water from the State Water Project (SWP) and the Central Valley Project (CVP) this year. On April 11, 2023, the Board of Directors replaced the mandatory call to reduce water use with a voluntary call for 15% water conservation compared to 2019. On June 13, 2023, the Board adopted a resolution to support water conservation as a way of life and an ordinance with a set of permanent water waste prohibitions for Santa Clara County.

Weather

• Rainfall in Santa Clara County
  • Month of August, City of San José: 0 inches
• San José average daily high temperature was 85.3 degrees Fahrenheit in August, which is higher than the five-year average for August (83 degrees Fahrenheit)

Local Reservoirs

Current local reservoir storage

• Total September 1 storage: 51,161 acre-feet

• 
  Approximately 1,340 acre-feet of imported water delivered into Calero Reservoir during August 2023
• Total estimated releases to streams (local and imported water) during August were 7,230 acre-feet (based on preliminary hydrologic data)

Groundwater

Groundwater conditions continue to be healthy throughtout the county.  Groundwater levels in all regional monitoring wells except one are lower than last month.  All water levels are higher relative to August 2022 and all except one are higher relative to the prior five-year average for August.  The end of 2023 groundwater storage is projected to be in Stage 1 (Normal) of the Water Shortage Contingency Plan

Imported Water

• In August, the SWP operated Banks pumping plant with an average daily export of 12,931 acre-feet, resulting in a total export of 400,855 acre-feet from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
• In August, the CVP operated Jones pumping plant with an average daily export of 8,219 acre-feet, resulting in a total export of 254,815 acre-feet from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
• Releases are being made from San Luis Reservoir to supplement Delta Exports to meet south-of-Delta demands

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

Treated Water

• Below average demands of 10,639 acre-feet delivered in August
• This total is 92% of the five-year average for the month of August
• Year-to-date deliveries are 60,255 acre-feet or 90% of the five-year average

Conserved Water

• Saved 80,078 acre-feet in FY22 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 13, 2023, the Board adopted a resolution to support water conservation as a way of life in Santa Clara County and an ordinance with a set of permanent water waste prohibitions

Recycled Water

• Estimated August 2023 production = 2,188 acre-feet
• Estimated year-to-date through August = 10,697 acre-feet or 90% of the five-year average
• Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center produced an estimated 1.6 billion gallons (4,803 acre-feet) of purified water in 2022. Since the beginning of 2023, about 2,983 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