Water Sources

Drinking water sources across America include rivers, lakes, streams, reservoirs, and groundwater wells. The source of the water that you receive depends on the service area you live in: Evergreen, North San José/Alviso, Edenvale, or Coyote Valley.

Evergreen

The San Jose Municipal Water System gets treated surface water from Valley Water and delivers it to our Evergreen customers. The District’s source water is mainly imported from the South Bay Aqueduct, Lake Del Valle, and San Luis Reservoir, which all draw water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed. The District’s local water sources include Anderson and Calero Reservoirs. From these reservoirs, water is pumped to the Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant in San José.

North San José and Alviso

The San Jose Municipal Water System gets treated water from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and delivers it to customers in Alviso and North San José. The Hetch Hetchy Watershed provides most of the SFPUC water supply. This water comes from snowmelt that flows down the Tuolumne River before being stored in the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

Additional SFPUC water supply comes from watersheds in Alameda and Santa Clara Counties. Surface water from rainfall and runoff is collected in local reservoirs. Before it’s used, the water is treated at the Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant.

Edenvale & Coyote Valley

The Santa Clara Valley Groundwater Basin supplies about half of the County’s water. Groundwater is used in the San Jose Municipal Water System’s Edenvale and Coyote Valley service areas.