COMMITTEE AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Joint RWPAC with Cities of San Jose/Santa Clara
Government Code § 84308 Applies: Yes ☐ No ☒
(If “YES” Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code § 84308)
SUBJECT: title
Receive Pure Water Silicon Valley Direct Potable Reuse Project Update and Provide Feedback.
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RECOMMENDATION: Recommendation
Receive information and provide feedback on progress towards the development of the Pure Water Silicon Valley Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) project to ensure our community is more drought resilient.
Body
SUMMARY:
Background
In January 2023, Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) and the Cities of San Jose and Santa Clara (Cities) executed a Letter of Intent for Collaborating on the Expansion of Recycled and Purified Water in Santa Clara County (LOI). The LOI recognizes that climate change makes our community more vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, including periods of long-term drought and more intense wet-weather events. To prepare for these extreme and uncertain events, the availability of a drought- proof water supply and efficient water management justifies the significant and rapid expansion of recycling treated wastewater from the San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF). The San Jose City Council and Valley Water Board (Board) met on August 19, 2025, and October 13, 2026, to reaffirm support for the Pure Water Silicon Valley (PWSV) direct potable reuse project collaboration. Specifically, in August 2025, the Board and Council affirmed the following:
• Support the development of a project charter and exclusive negotiation agreement as necessary initial steps to guide studies and negotiate the institutional agreements required for a full-scale advanced water purification facility.
• Support for coordinated public education and outreach programs to ensure the success of a DPR project.
• Support project updates twice a year or as needed to the Joint Recycled Water Policy Advisory Committee (JRWPAC).
This memo summarizes progress made since the April 2026 JRWPAC meeting.
Agreements and Collaboration
The following agreements have been executed since April:
• Amendment to staff funding agreements with the City of San Jose to support development of the Pure Water Silicon Valley project.
• Exclusive Negotiations Agreement to reserve space for the future full-scale DPR facility.
City of San Jose and Valley Water staff have jointly developed a charter to serve as the framework for the agreements required for a full-scale DPR facility (Attachment 1). The framework establishes a shared vision and outlines key topics that will need to be addressed in the new agreements, including wastewater quality and quantity, facility pretreatment, reverse osmosis concentrate management, and source control.
City and Valley Water staff held a facilitated Reverse Osmosis Concentrate management workshop to develop a win-win approach and will further develop this approach in the next few months.
City and Valley Water staff are also coordinating with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on a potential partnership on the project. A workshop is being scheduled for November.
Demonstration Facility Design
On June 9, 2026, the Board approved an agreement with AECOM Technical Services for a not-to-exceed amount of $4,499,917. The agreement includes design and bid award services for the Pure Water Silicon Valley Demonstration Facility Project, which is comprised of a 200 gallons per minute (gpm) DPR Pilot Treatment Facility inside the SVAWPC site and a new two-acre state-of-the-art Learning Center complex adjacent to the purification center. The design for the pilot is expected in April 2027.
Procurement efforts for the exhibits in the Learning Center are ongoing. A Technical Advisory Group, which includes City staff, is assisting Valley Water in developing this procurement.
Capital Improvement Program
The full-scale facility has been added to Valley Water’s CIP in 2026. The estimated total project cost is $2.45 billion, with completion anticipated by 2035. This project is in the planning phase.
Regulatory Coordination and Technical Studies
On June 23, 2026, the Board approved a contract with the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) to contribute towards the California Validation (CalVal) effort. Valley Water's participation directly supports the Pure Water Silicon Valley Project by advancing development of DPR-specific validation guidance.
Valley Water continues meeting monthly with the California State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water (DDW) to support regulatory coordination, including development of a Concept Proposal and Pilot Testing and Monitoring Plan.
Grants and Feasibility Study
Valley Water and City of San Jose staff are coordinating on a feasibility study funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). Once complete, the study will position the project to pursue construction grant funding. The first task in the study defined the project and performed a baseline analysis, and included:
• An examination of existing agreements, memoranda, regulatory permits, governance (ordinances, regulations) and planning documents, etc., to define roles and responsibilities and identify conditions that could impact the project.
• A review and analysis of available data and information to develop a project baseline and framework that addresses service area, source water demands, regulatory permitting, environmental issues, benefits, etc.
• A review of funding requirements to evaluate technical elements for the feasibility study and identify information gaps, approaches to resolve data gaps, sources of needed information, and prioritization of activities to maintain schedule and budget.
Staff have now initiated the development of feasibility study elements based upon USBR requirements and guidelines that summarize project background, regulatory drivers, project decisions, and permitting milestones to frame the study report.
Separately, Valley Water is working on a grant agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a Community Project Funding award of $1,092,000 for planning the Demonstration Facility. U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17) secured this award in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations.
An additional effort is underway, with $2,203,950 in funding awarded to Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA) from an EPA Region 9 Office of Water Grant to evaluate the feasibility of utilizing nature-based solutions as a long-term strategy to treat Reverse Osmosis Concentrate (ROC). This collaborative study by the City of San Jose and Valley Water is conducted in partnership with the Bay Area Clean Water Agency (BACWA), San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP), and U.C. Berkeley.
On September 28-30, 2026, Valley Water staff traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with Members of Congress and administration officials to advocate for Valley Water’s federal funding requests and legislative priorities for FYs 2027 and 2028. Valley Water’s federal request includes reauthorization of the USBR Large-Scale Water Recycling Program and additional funding to support the significant demand for the program.
Staff is also pursuing foundation funding, particularly for the Learning Center.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
There are no environmental justice impacts associated with this item. This action is unlikely to or will not result in adverse impacts.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Charter
Attachment 2: PowerPoint
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Kirsten Struve, 408-630-3138