PURE WATER SILICON VALLEY
AUGUST 19, 2025
Eric Dunlavey, Deputy Director, Environmental Services Department Kirsten Struve, Assistant Officer, Water Supply Division 2 valleywater.org
Potable Reuse: Project Commitment
Potable reuse goal
- 24,000 AFY by 2035 – a Purified Water focus on a project in San José
Letter of Intent with the Cities:
- VW Board & San José City Council directed aggressive
pursuit of joint project to meet local supply needs that is the largest size practicable within funding, env. & technical constraints.
Approved Capital Improvement Program
- Pure Water Silicon Valley Project Phase 1 (Demonstration Facility)
Design
2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033
Draft Timeline for Pure Water Silicon Valley
DPR Full-Scale Facility
Modified
Agreements
Agreements
CEQAPlanning
Draft 4/30/2025
DPR Demonstration Facility
2034
Validation
testing
2035 20372036
Construction
Learning Center
Construction
Design
Procurement Time
(RFP advertisement, contractor selection)
Start-Up and
Optimization
Major Project Milestones
CEQA
Education/ Outreach (ongoing)
Pilot
Construction
Today
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Demonstration Facility Need and Progress
• Enable permitting of full-scale facility in expedited manner and reduce risk • Validation studies required for permitting to ensure that pathogens and chemicals are removed to meet stringent DPR standards.
• Evaluate advanced water treatment technologies
• Ensure operator training
• Learning center located inside of the demonstration facility will provide for public education and outreach to ensure public support for the project. • Progress: staff funding agreement, amended agreements, procurement for design consultant, CEQA, learning center site visits.
• Meeting with regulators on testing plan for the demonstration facility and a regulatory roadmap for future permit applications for the full-scale facility
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Full Scale Facility
• SFPUC collaboration opportunities
• Charter and Vision
Spurred by a sense of urgency and a shared commitment to a sustainable future providing safe, clean water for those who live and work in our region, we will implement an innovative, cost-effective, potable reuse program providing a locally-controlled, drought-resilient water supply. This project will be a model of inter-agency cooperation efficiently synergizing with existing resources in the interest of the public good and environmental stewardship. • Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) being developed to set aside land
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Pilot/Demonstration and Full-Scale Facilities
Develop long-term interagency agreements in parallel:
• Address wastewater availability
• ROC and waste stream management
• DPR regulatory requirements (source control, wastewater characterization, etc.)
• DPR facility Operations and Maintenance
• Land Lease
Roadmap
Grants
• Valley Water procured technical consultant services to provide multi-year support for state and federal grant and loan applications. • The engineering consultant will assist in developing a San José Purified Water Project feasibility study.
o The feasibility study is required for future grant applications to support design and construction of the full-scale project.
o City of San José staff participated in the review and selection of this engineering support for this study.
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Water Supply Outreach
Our Goals:
• To educate
• To be transparent
• To raise awareness
• To build public support for Potable Reuse
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August 19 Action
Accept the purified water project update, including the following next steps:
• Development of a project charter and exclusive negotiation agreement as necessary initial steps for a full-scale facility • Coordinated public outreach and education programs to ensure success of Direct Potable Reuse Project
• Project updates twice per year or as needed to JRWPAC
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QUESTIONS