Recycled water generally refers to treated domestic/ municipal wastewater that is used more than once for a beneficial purpose before it passes back into the water cycle. Purified water is highly recycled water that has passed through another proven advanced water treatment process (advanced purification) and has been verified through monitoring to ensure safety for augmenting drinking water supplies.

Currently, the purified water produced at the SVAWPC is blended with the tertiary-treated water from the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility. This enhances the quality of the recycled water and expands the number of recycled water customers using the water for non-drinking purposes. The purification center is demonstrating proven technologies to produce highly purified water that can be used for various purposes, including expanding future drinking water supplies.

The district is evaluating additional uses for the purified water similar to what is being done by other water districts in the state. For example, Orange County Water District in Southern California recharges its groundwater supply with purified recycled water. The water purified at their Groundwater Replenishment System is the purest water source available, and actually improves groundwater quality.

The water we use today has been used throughout eons, over and over again. In our county, about 40 percent of the water used is imported through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. While nearly all of this water is from rainfall and snowmelt, a small percentage is used by several cities on its way to us and is returned to the system. Our Delta water supplies are treated at one of our three water treatment plants or filtered through groundwater recharge, making it safe to drink.

Yes. The California Department of Public Health allows irrigation and industrial uses of recycled water and even full body contact with recycled water that is part of a recreational lake. However, water from the new Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center will be even purer than traditional recycled water. In fact, highly purified water produced at the center matches and in some cases even exceeds California and federal drinking water standards.

Yes. Recycled water has been successfully used in Santa Clara County since the 1970s and currently comprises almost 5 percent of the county’s water supply mix. Tertiary-treated recycled water is used for a variety of non-drinking purposes such as landscaping, agriculture and industrial uses.