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Tri-Valley water agencies have unveiled a new website that is focused on educating residents and businesses about the region's water supply reliability.
The region's water wholesaler, Zone 7 Water Agency, collaborated with local water providers California Water Service Company in Livermore, the cities of Livermore and Pleasanton, and Dublin San Ramon Services District to put the website together.
The reason for creating the website (trivalleywater.org) stemmed from a 2019 water supply evaluation update, which reaffirmed and clarified the need to pursue new water supply options for long-term water reliability in the Tri-Valley, according to a news release.
When visiting the website, users can learn about water supply challenges and potential drought solutions including Sites Reservoir, a $5.2 billion off-stream reservoir project to be built by the California Department of Water Resources in the Sacramento Valley and the Delta Conveyance Project.
The Delta Conveyance Project aims to improve the water delivery system of the State Water Project, with which Zone 7 is a contractor, through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
"Before beginning work on this program, we looked at past studies which demonstrated there is considerable confusion about where our water comes from and the system that provides it," Zone 7 General Manager Valerie Pryor said in the news release.
"Our goal with this education program is to give constituents a solid understanding of their water supply, so they can be more informed about the potential solutions to our water challenges," she added.
Users can also learn about other potential local solutions such as the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion project, which is a surface storage project; potable water reuse, which uses treated wastewater for drinking water; and regional desalination, which is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water.
But according to the news release, none of those projects singlehandedly meet the water reliability needs identified in the 2019 water supply evaluation and are all currently under evaluation. A combination of projects will eventually be selected for investment and implementation.
Local elected officials agreed the water supply reliability options identified needed continued evaluation, and a community outreach program to educate Tri-Valley residents and businesses about the region's water supply challenges and potential solutions needed to be developed, which led to the development of the new website.
"Equipped with this information, we feel residents and businesses will be in a better position to participate in the process of informing us which of the potential solutions we are currently exploring will best meet the needs and values of the community," Pryor said.
