Today, we were informed that our State Water Project allocation has increased from 10% to 15%. Our initial Central Valley Project allocation is 15% for agricultural and 65% for municipal and industrial uses.
We appreciate the Bureau of Reclamation and the Department of Water Resources’ tireless effort to bring water to California communities and farms. State and federal water allocations are significant to us, given that we cannot store water in our local Anderson Reservoir as we undergo a federally mandated seismic retrofit.
With Valley Water being both a State Water Project and Central Valley Project contractor, a significant portion of our water supply relies on the annual water allocations from these projects. While we appreciate the increase in allocations, they are well below average.
We are cautiously optimistic that the allocations will increase because of the recent and future storms. However, the initially low allocations this year and the swings in allocations from year to year reinforce the need for continued investment to ensure Santa Clara County has a sustainable water supply not just for this year but also for the future.
Photo credit: Xavier Mascareñas / California Department of Water Resources