COMMITTEE AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Recycled Water Committee
Government Code ? 84308 Applies: Yes ? No ?
(If "YES" Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code ? 84308)
SUBJECT: title
Receive an Update on the Desalination Engineering Feasibility Study.
End
RECOMMENDATION: Recommendation
Receive an update on the Desalination Engineering Feasibility Study.
Body
SUMMARY:
This memorandum provides an update on the Desalination Engineering Feasibility Study (DEFS). Since the last update to the Recycled Water Committee (RWC) on December 16, 2025, Valley Water is completing the draft final DEFS and will present the findings to date.
BACKGROUND
In 2023, Valley Water (VW) completed a Desalination Environmental Feasibility and Planning Study (DEFPS), which identified intake options, facility locations, and brine management strategies. These elements formed the foundation for the DEFS currently underway by Black and Veatch. Building on the conclusions of the DEFPS, the current work is focused on evaluating additional siting locations, intake options, brine management and conveyance options. In December 2025, the Fatal Flaw Analysis was completed, and more recently the Alternatives Analysis was completed, including a rough cost estimate for various alternatives. The following sections present the findings from these latest efforts, and provide an update on outreach efforts with regulators, stakeholders and other interested parties.
STUDY APPROACH
The DEFS evaluated the feasibility of a treatment facility with a production capacity of 10 to 40 million gallons per day (MGD) with the feed source from the Lower South San Francisco Bay (LSB). The four major components evaluated include a bay-water intake, facility siting, brine management and conveyance for distribution.
Intake locations including both subsurface and open intake options were evaluated as well as four intake types and five screen options for the protection of aquatic life while meeting hydraulic needs. Twelve site...
Click here for full text