Valley Water commemorates the 5th anniversary of the opening of the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center and the collaboration with the cities of San Jose and Santa Clara to study the safety, cleanliness, and reliability of advanced water purification as a new, locally controlled, and drought-resistant water supply.
Valley Water's Board of Directors unanimously approved a two part agreement with the cities of Palo Alto and Mountain View that includes a local advanced treatment facility for recycled water and potential for a regional advanced water purification center. Palo Alto and Mountain View City Councils both unanimously approved the proposed agreement at their meetings on November 18, 2019.
Excerpt: The Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center, in San Jose, treats and recycles 8 million gallons of water per day, directing it toward uses other than drinking water—mostly urban landscaping. Hossein Ashktorab, the plant’s recycled water manager, says the facility has considered investing in desalination but, for cost and logistical reasons, opted against it. ‘We’ve compared desalination to water reuse, and water reuse is much better—it’s more cost effective and more environmentally friendly,’ he says.
Excerpt: Another way we are preparing for the future is through expanding use of recycled water. This year we celebrated the completion of a 2.5 mile recycled water pipeline along Wolfe Road in Sunnyvale. The project was also a shining example of how Silicon Valley businesses and local governments can successfully invest in our region’s water infrastructure, paving the way for future collaborations.
Excerpt: Locally, the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center (SVAWPC), operated by the SCVWD, is a state-of-the-art water purification plant that takes recycled water from the San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility and purifies it to meet even higher environmental quality standards. At the SVAWPC, recycled water goes through three purification processes: microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet light. Water gets plumbed back to Levi’s Stadium where it irrigates the farm and the football field.
Excerpt: …I’m rather intrigued by what Santa Clara Valley Water District is doing… They’re also conducting research and innovation studies behind the scenes, but the focus is bringing in the public and allowing them to see the technology and get comfortable with it over time — to educate. That seems to be a great model.
Excerpt: “…That’s why the water district has been hard at work expanding its recycled and purified water program. Recycled water is wastewater cleaned through multiple levels of treatment. It can be purified to produce water that meets or exceeds all state drinking water quality standards. Through a series of advanced treatment processes, wastewater is stripped of contaminants, pharmaceuticals, viruses and bacteria to produce clean, safe and drinkable water.”
Excerpt: “In July 2014, in the middle of one of the hottest and driest summers in California history, Silicon Valley celebrated the opening of its newest water supply facility: a $72 million purification plant that can produce clean water from sewage. A small crowd of local and state officials stood on stage… behind them loomed the new Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center.”
Excerpt: “Four utilities are participating in the bench-scale treatment/distribution system study: Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD), City of Ventura, Clark County Water Reclamation District, and Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.”