Guest View

Last winter’s drenching rain filled many state and local reservoirs, and dumped a healthy dose of snow on the Sierra Nevada. But the state’s fragile Delta infrastructure threatens the delivery of imported water throughout the state, which can become challenging for water agencies, especially in times of drought.The Santa Clara Valley Water District knows that to protect us from future droughts and dependency on imported water, we must continue to work toward securing reliable local water sources. That’s why the water district has been hard at work expanding its recycled and purified water program.Recycled water is wastewater cleaned through multiple levels of treatment. It can be purified to produce water that meets or exceeds all state drinking water quality standards. Through a series of advanced treatment processes, wastewater is stripped of contaminants, pharmaceuticals, viruses and bacteria to produce clean, safe and drinkable water.All of these advanced processes can be seen up close at the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center in San Jose. The largest facility of its kind in northern California, the purification center is a cornerstone of our recycled and purified water program. Since its doors opened in 2014, this state-of-the-art facility has been key in our efforts to increasing our drinking water supply with this drought-proof water source, independent of rainfall.There are two paths to do this: through indirect potable reuse or direct potable reuse. The first consists of replenishing our groundwater aquifers by allowing purified water to filter naturally through soil and rock layers, to be pumped later for drinking. The second is to send purified water directly to our drinking water system after it has been treated. Both options require further research and would require expansion of our pipeline system.Currently, recycled water is used for landscaping, agricultural and industrial purposes, such as irrigation or for cooling towers. This allows us to conserve drinking water.Since before the historic drought, the water district has made great strides expanding the recycled water pipeline network with several projects, such as the South County Recycled Water Pipeline Project. A partnership between the water district, cities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill and the South County Regional Wastewater Authority, this effort will add about 14,500 linear feet of pipeline in South County. When completed, it will increase the availability of recycled water in the area by roughly 50 percent, from 2,000 acre-feet per year to up to 3,000. (An acre-foot is about the same amount of water two families of five use in a year). The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently awarded $5.7 million in federal funding for the project, equating to about 25 percent of the total project cost.   The four agencies have been working on expanding recycled water delivery for over a decade, as laid out in the South County Recycled Water Master Plan, which was introduced in 2004 and updated in 2015.For more information on our progress in recycled and purified water, I invite you to a free tour of our purification center. Schedule your tour and find tasting events at purewater4u.org.SCVWD Director John Varela represents the South County district, which includes Morgan Hill, on the water district’s board of directors. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Anyone who has ever lost a pet knows how helpless it feels not to be able to locate their animal. Fortunately, it’s now easier than ever to prevent this from happening. Santa Clara County Animal Care and Control and VIP Pet Care are proud to sponsor a free registered microchip and free rabies vaccination clinic Sunday, July 17 at the County Animal Shelter, 12370 Murphy Ave., San Martin. Santa Clara County Animal Control Officers carry microchip scanners in their vehicles. When they pick up a stray animal, they scan it for a microchip. If the animal is wearing a license tag or has a registered microchip, the officers will return the pet to the owners if possible. For more information about this event, call VIP Pet Care at (800) 427-7973.Homelessness decreased 14 percent in just two years in our county,thanks to innovative programs and partnerships between government and local nonprofits. There is no question about it: Housing First works. The concept of Housing First has proven effective in our community; we know that by providing people with housing in conjunction with supportive services, they are significantly more likely to stay housed and off the streets. As recently reported in the press, a single homeless person often uses $67,000 in government services annually. Once housed, that number drops down to $24,000. The significant saving is due largely to homeless individuals relying on expensive emergency room services for basic health care. Once housed, this reliance drops dramatically. By focusing on housing for the homeless, we can save lives and taxpayer money.From July 4 to 10, the U.S. Women's Open—dubbed the Super Bowl of women's golf—will take place for the first time ever in Santa Clara County! The public can watch 156 of the world's greatest professional and amateur golfers compete for the sport's ultimate trophy. The 71st U.S. Women's Open, presented by the USGA and hosted at CordeValle, will draw thousands of visitors from around the world to our region. Kudos to all involved with bringing this event to our County.The county is partnering with Racing Hearts to place lifesaving heart defibrillators (AEDs) throughout the community. So far, 249 AEDs have been installed, each of which is supported by a 5-year program of supplies and service. This translated to protecting over 943,230 students and adults per year, at 185 sites! If you have a location in your area which is high risk that you feel would benefit from our county's matching grant program, Racing Hearts (Program Manager for the County) is available to answer questionsabout how to start work on bringing AEDs into your community.  Contact them at (650) 308-4183 or email [email protected]'t forget to submit a photo for my 2016 Summer Photo Contest. Grab your camera and show us your favorite summertime images of landscape, farmers markets, parades, county parks, neighborhood BBQs, pets and other fun images of summer. The deadline is July 29. Simply email your photo (ONE per person please) to [email protected] along with your name, address, and where you took the photo.Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman represents District 1, which includes South County, on the board of supervisors. He can be reached at (408) 299-5010 or [email protected].