indicated the board’s willingness to
eventually commit over $200 million
to the project. It adopted a number of
guiding principles:
• Santa Clara County needs are the
primary drivers in all water district
decisions involving the WaterFix
project.
• The water district won’t allow
Silicon Valley values and priorities to
be placed at a disadvantage relative to
Central Valley Agriculture or Southern
California.
• District officials are advocating for a
flexible approach that addresses
Silicon Valley stakeholder and
community input.
• As water is a human right, the water
district must make investments to
make sure its water supply meets
future needs at a cost affordable
by everyone.
• Equity and costs are important.
• Any final arrangement must provide
flexibility to acquire supplemental
water by taking advantage of future
wet years to ensure residents have a
reliable water supply, no matter
what extreme weather the changing
climate brings.
• The water district will keep
negotiating for the best deal for
Santa Clara County.
Discussions with the state and partner
water agencies about the multi-billion-
dollar project are ongoing.
ANDERSON DAM
SEISMIC RETROFIT
Anderson Dam is not only the biggest
of the county’s ten reservoirs, but bigger
than all the others put together—a crucial
player in our water supply.
Seven years ago the water district
identified seismic issues, after which it
was required to maintain the dam at just
68 percent of capacity, despite a five-year
drought that ensued. The water district
has been planning a seismic retrofit for a
number of years now and in that process,
uncovered additional vulnerabilities that
required a more extensive retrofit. It also
adjusted the dam to approximately 38
percent of capacity.
Revised plans call for a majority of the
dam to be removed and replaced with
a new dam seven feet higher and new
spillway walls about nine feet higher. A
new, large outlet will enable rapid draw-
down of the reservoir in the event of an
emergency.
Design changes have pushed project
cost beyond $550 million. SCVWD has
said that while about $65 million of the
funding will come from the Safe, Clean
Water and Natural Flood Protection
Program, the remainder will come from
water rates over the next three decades.
Assuming SCVWD secures the
project’s required permits, construction
may begin in 2020 and continue
for about a five-year period. A draft
Environmental Impact Report is due out
this spring.
CONSERVATION
Water conservation is another aspect
of resilience that Santos said the water
district will continue to encourage. Last
year’s winter floods were followed by
this year’s dry winter. Another drought
cycle could be just around the corner.
The water district board adopted a target
reduction in water use of 20 percent over
2013 levels, which still stands.
RISING RATES
The District is looking to invest $116
million in the next few years for the
South County portion of the Anderson
Dam Seismic Retrofit.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
APRIL/MAY 2018
More than $19M is earmarked for
the expansion of drought-proof recycled
water supplies to help ensure reliable
water supply in the future.
Some $29 million is planned over the
next 10 years for California WaterFix to
improve the reliability and water quality
of supplies conveyed through the Bay
Delta.
Finally, $14M is planned for pipe-
line inspection and rehab efforts to
help prevent a failure like the one that
occurred in August 2015 to the Santa
Clara Conduit near Highway 152.
The District is currently conducting a
study “to evaluate whether the