Water panel hears update today on $2.45 billion plan to purify wastewater for drinking
A new poll finds 52% of county residents back the Pure Water Silicon Valley project. No vote on it is listed.
SAN JOSE - A joint committee of Valley Water, San Jose and Santa Clara officials hears an update at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, on Pure Water Silicon Valley, a plan to clean wastewater to drinking-water standards and add it to the drinking supply, according to the agenda. Both items are for feedback only; the only vote listed is approving past minutes.
A full-size plant near the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center in San Jose would cost an estimated $2.45 billion, staff slides say. The goal is 24,000 acre-feet a year by 2035. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons. A $100 million demonstration plant comes first.
A June poll of 600 county residents for Valley Water found 52% support the project and 36% oppose it. On the general idea of adding purified recycled water to drinking water, residents split 41% to 39%. The margin of error is 4 points.
The Joint Recycled Water Policy Advisory Committee meets in Wing Rooms 118-120 at City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara St., and on Zoom.
Source: Joint Recycled Water Policy Advisory Committee agenda, Oct. 29, 2026, project slides and poll slides
- Joint Recycled Water Policy Advisory Committee agenda, Oct. 29, 2026 (Items 4.1, 4.2)
- Valley Water / City of San José slides, Pure Water Silicon Valley update (Item 4.1, File 26-0789)
- EMC Research for Valley Water, 2026 Potable Reuse Tracking Survey slides (Item 4.2, File 26-0801)
- Valley Water meeting calendar (Legistar)