Willow Glen Resident
News
Coyote water competitor raises its pumping levels significantly
By Eli Segall
One of the companies vying to be the exclusive water utility for the pending Coyote Valley development has increased pumping levels so significantly in Coyote over the past year that water officials are concerned about the potential environmental impact to the valley.
Great Oaks Water Company, which already serves customers in rural Coyote, pumped seven times as much groundwater-- or 600 percent more--out of subbasins in Coyote Valley last year than it did in 2005, according to Santa Clara Valley Water District figures. The subbasins hold natural runoff and water from percolation ponds.
District officials said increased pumping could deplete the water supply, cause sinking ground levels and overwork equipment in the Coyote area.
The increase, although potentially harmful, is not illegal. The water district, the county's wholesale water provider, does not limit how much water can be pumped from its subbasins.
"You don't need to be an engineer to say 600 percent is a significant increase," said Behzad Ahmadi, water district ground water unit manager. Ahmadi declined to say the exact volume of water being extracted by Great Oaks.
Great Oaks chairman John Roeder confirmed the company's pumping increased in Coyote Valley last year, but he did not say by how much. Roeder attributed the increase to no specific reasons, but noted Great Oaks could decrease the amount of water pumped from Coyote this year.
Water district chief operating officer Walter Wadlow sent a letter dated Feb. 8 to the state department of health services arguing against a plan by Great Oaks to install a new pump to draw more water from the district's Coyote Valley subbasin, one of the three the district operates. The letter was sent as part of state environmental review of the impact of installing the pump. Wadlow expressed concerns over the subbasins' future water supply given the proposed Coyote Valley Specific Plan will bring 84,000 residents and 55,000 jobs to Coyote and more than double the area's water demand, according to a recent joint report from the San Jose City Council and the water district.
In a joint city council-water district report, the agencies recommended using advance-treated recycled water for non-potable uses, such as agriculture and industry, in the new Coyote development. South Bay Recycled Water Program and the South County Water Recycling Agency have been identified as possible sources. Potable water, used for drinking, cooking and showering, will be drawn from the district's groundwater subbasins.
Great Oaks, San Jose Municipal Water System and San Jose Water Company, the three companies asking for rights to the project area, were required by the state to file water supply assessments, which will be incorporated into the project's Environmental Impact Report set for release later this month. The San Jose City Council reviewed the assessments on March 13, but Great Oaks' assessment did not include the 600 percent increase; the report documented company pumping levels citywide, but not in each neighborhood.
Project developer Coyote Housing Group, LLC, will ultimately choose the water utility for the area.
Coyote Valley, a sparsely populated area marked by agricultural and light industrial use, is 13 miles south of downtown San Jose. It is bounded by Diablo Range to the east, Santa Cruz Mountains to the west, Coyote Narrows to the north and the city of Morgan Hill to the south.
