San Jose banking on conservation, recycling efforts to meet
needs for planned development
The area has, at best, only 50 percent of the water supply necessary to support San Jose’s development schemes for Coyote Valley, though a water district official said that she expects a combination of conservation and recycling efforts will meet the future water demands of the city’s southern edge.
Preliminary projections place the amount of water needed to support a Coyote Valley of 25,000 homes, 50,000 jobs and 80,000 residents at 16,000 to 20,000 acre-feet annually. As it now stands, the Coyote groundwater sub-basin has enough water to supply only 8,000 acre-feet of water per year. An acre foot of water is equal to an area about the size of a football field filled to a depth of one foot, or the amount of water needed to support a family of five for one year.
Currently, there are no recharge avenues for Coyote Valley other than Coyote Creek, meaning that the proposed neighborhood will be entirely reliant on the present capacity of groundwater sub-basin. The Santa Clara Valley Water District is responsible for meeting the water demands of Coyote Valley, which has been in San Jose’s general plan for decades and is part of the district’s long-term supply plan for South County.
Melanie Richardson, assistant operating officer for the district’s water supply management team, said Coyote Valley is an opportunity for the district and community to employ new technology and techniques for conserving and recycling water.
“With a new development you have the opportunity to do things from the ground up,” Richardson said. “There’s no doubt that it’s getting harder to find new water, but this in an opportunity to be more efficient with the local supply. The ultimate demand can be met. We just have to figure out how to do it.”
Later this month, the district will present a set of recommendations to San Jose officials about how the city can make better use of the water in the Coyote basin, and in the next year the district will begin plotting ways to meet the shortfall, which won’t occur until the development approaches full build-out, which is at least 20 years away.
The district’s task in Coyote valley is further complicated because it’s in the unusual position of providing water directly to residents.
“Normally we would do that with a retailer,” CEO Stan Williams said. “In Coyote Valley, we don’t know who that is. It’s not a matter of having enough water, but trying to get that water in the right place.”
Coyote Valley developers and homebuilders can conserve water by building homes with dual plumbing that allows use of reclaimed water for toilets, mandating use of water-efficient appliances and planting native, drought-resistant landscaping.
The March 14 Task Force Meeting will be held at 151 West Mission St., San Jose in Room 202 A and B (just west of San Jose City Hall) from 5:30-7:30 p.m. www.sanjoseca.gov/coyotevalley/
Gilroy Dispatch reporter Matt King covers Santa Clara County. He can be reached at mk***@gi************.com or 847-7240.
