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Water: Total Citywide Water Use

 
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Why is this a Climate Smart indicator? 

  • Reducing water usage helps ensure that we have a reliable water supply.   

  • In Santa Clara County, about half our water comes from far away sources such as the Sierra Nevada and the Sacramento Delta. If we use less water, we can import less, keeping more water in streams, rivers and lakes.   

  • Reducing water usage reduces energy used for pumping and treating water. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions.  

  • Reducing residential water usage can help lower water bills. 

What is the City doing to make progress on this indicator? 

Completed 

  • Publish Water Shortage Contingency Plan (June 2021) 

  • Declare a 15% water shortage and restrict outdoor watering to two days per week (11/30/21) 

  • Collaborate with local water retailers to evaluate Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) technologies to allow residents to access real-time, cloud-based water usage data 

  • Amend the City’s water efficient landscape ordinance to require drought-tolerant landscape design for new and rehabilitated landscapes (adopted 5/3/22)

  • Oversee final stages of an AMI pilot study and procure a consultant to evaluate pilot results and determine next steps for municipal water customers

In Progress/Ongoing 

  • Support legislative and regulatory items that further the City’s water conservation efforts

  • Promote the Valley Water free online shopping cart feature in which San José residents can order water saving devices and literature to be sent directly to them at no cost

  • Work with Valley Water and local water retailers to increase outreach efforts to San José residents with ways to save water and avoid a water shortage in San José 

  • Work with partners to develop water budgets for commercial irrigation customers and inform them about their water usage 

  • Offer water conservation online resources to eligible irrigation customers to allow access to historical water use, landscape maps and irrigation recommendations for sites 

Evaluating 

  • Offer water audits for commercial, industrial, and institutional sites  

  • Develop new municipal codes that further residential water conservation efforts 

  • Collaborate with neighboring jurisdictions to explore direct potable water reuse to augment the potable water supply for San José Municipal Water customers 

 

About the data 

Sources 

Values for total water use are sourced from the Santa Clara Valley Water District and represent the total amount of water produced in San José by the City Municipal Water System, SJWC, and the Great Oaks Water Company. The amount of water produced in San José by SJWC is estimated as 80 percent of the total amount of water produced by SJWC because approximately 80 percent of SJWC’s customers are within San José city limits. 

Limitations 

Precise data on the number of SJWC customers located within San José city limits are not available. 

Water production indicates the amount of water each company puts into the water distribution system. In addition to water use/consumption by customers, it also includes leaks, theft, and water used for firefighting. 

Last updated 

August 2023