What is the purpose of the Emergency Water Supply and Storage Project?
The Hetch Hetchy aqueduct system is the Citys primary water source. The California Department of Public Health (DPH) recommends that the City of Palo Alto have sufficient capacity in its water storage reservoirs and/or water wells to supply its customers with enough water to meet emergency and normal use demands should the Hetch Hetchy supply be interrupted. In order to address this problem the City plans to construct the Emergency Water Supply and Storage Project to provide for emergency water needs in the event of an extended service interruption of the Hetch Hetchy system. Should a complete shutdown of connections to the Citys Hetch Hetchy water supplies become protracted, the project, in conjunction with extensive water conservation by water users, will have the ability to meet a basic level of water service citywide.
