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PrintQ: Where Does Our Water Come From?
Q: Where does our water come from?
A: When you consider the water that comes out of our faucets, think of mountain creeks, underground lakes, and captured rain. In a normal year nearly half of Santa Clara County’s water is drawn from local groundwater aquifers or rainwater captured in the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s 10 reservoirs. The rest originates hundreds of miles away, starting as snowmelt in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, and rivers that empty into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. This water is treated at one of our district's three drinking water treatment plants.
One of the largest local government agencies in Silicon Valley, the Santa Clara Valley Water District provides drinking water and flood protection to 1.8 million people in Santa Clara County. As the primary water wholesaler in the county, it sells water to 13 retail water providers, such as the San Jose Water Company, and individual cities, which in turn deliver the water to their customers. Relatively few people in the county have their own private wells.
There are five major watersheds in the county: Coyote, Guadalupe, Lower Peninsula, Uvas-Llagas, and West Valley. West Valley is the county's smallest watershed, an 85-square-mile area that includes both channelized creeks on the valley floor and natural streams in the hillsides. Long-time locals can tell you that Campbell water tastes different from the water in downtown San Jose or the hills of Saratoga, but all of the county’s water is safe to drink. It’s easy to find your local watershed, and all the events and projects happening there, by visiting valleywater.org/watersheds.
Did you know that drinking a glass of water from your own tap has less than one percent of the environmental impact of drinking bottled water? Successful marketing campaigns have promoted the concept that bottled water is safer and healthier than tap water, but this is not necessarily true.
A four-year study conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council revealed that city tap water is subjected to more rigorous testing and purity standards than bottled water. The biggest cost of drinking bottled water is that producing those bottles burns through 1.5 million barrels of crude oil annually—enough fuel to keep 100,000 cars running for a year.
Even worse, 60 million plastic bottles a day are tossed into U.S. landfills, where they can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade. And if you need more incentive, consider the fact that bottled water costs, on average, about 500 times more than tap water. Break the habit of buying water in plastic bottles and instead invest in a couple of portable, dishwasher-safe, stainless-steel bottles that you can re-fill from your tap again and again. If you don’t like the taste of your tap water, run it through a Brita or Pur filter, which will remove most of the taste and/or odor.
The Santa Clara Valley Water District’s projects also include freshwater wetland restoration and desalination, which means creating fresh drinking water from our own salty San Francisco Bay. Learn more about their ongoing projects at valleywater.org, 408.265.2600.
Water Conservation Tips
California is in the middle of a drought. The Santa Clara Valley Water District encourages everyone to think about how they can cut their own water usage by at least 15%.
• Santa Clara County residents can sign up for a free Water-Wise House Call by phoning 800.548.1882. A water surveyor will come to your home or apartment and review your water use, provide low-flow showerheads and aerators, and suggest water-wise recommendations for your home and landscape. House Calls are available weekdays and Saturdays during daylight hours.
• Time to replace that old toilet? Cash in by buying new water-efficient appliances. Rebates of up to $150 are available for high-efficiency toilets, clothes washers, and water softeners, and rebates up to $1000 are available for qualified outdoor irrigation systems. See valleywater.org for details, or call 408.265.2607 ext. 2554.
• Make water conservation part of your daily routine. Only run your washing machine or dishwasher with full loads, and turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth and shaving.
• Fix all leaks. To find hidden leaks, turn off all devices that use water and see if your water meter is still moving.
• Water your lawn only when needed, generally once every three days during the summer. Check sprinkler timers and reduce watering times if necessary.
• Apply a layer of organic mulch around plants to reduce moisture loss and keep weeds down.
