Santa Clara Valley Water District, California, USA – Direct potable reuse planned for the future
The Santa Clara Valley Water District ensures a safe, clean water supply to sustain the vibrant Silicon Valley economy and quality of life for nearly 1.9 million residents and thousands of businesses. The Pure Water Silicon Valley project is a collaboration between Valley Water and the cities of San José and Santa Clara. The Pure Water Silicon Valley project will enhance resilience to drought and climate change, while also reducing the risks of land subsidence and saltwater intrusion.
Since 2014, Valley Water has successfully operated the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center, tested future potable reuse technologies and conducted tours to increase public awareness. In 2023, Valley Water received a planning grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to conduct a feasibility study to evaluate new purification facilities and conveyance infrastructure in Silicon Valley.
With California’s recent adoption of Direct Potable Reuse regulations in 2024, Valley Water advanced its Purified Water Program to a large-scale direct potable reuse project. Building on the success of the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center, Valley Water, in collaboration with the cities of San José and Santa Clara, is actively developing Pure Water Silicon Valley project to produce up to 24,000 AFY of highly purified water using treated wastewater effluent from the San José/Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility. This facility will employ advanced processes such as ozone, biological activated carbon (BAC), microfiltration (MF), reverse osmosis (RO), ultraviolet advanced oxidation processes (UV-AOP), and chlorination to purify the water.
The project will be implemented through two phases: first, a direct potable reuse demonstration facility will be designed and constructed for testing, operator training, regulatory data collection, public education and outreach efforts. Following this, a full-scale direct potable reuse facility will be designed, constructed and permitted.
Pure Water Silicon Valley Fact Sheet
Treated water distribution system graphic: 