Mountain View Considering Transferring Water Rights to East Palo Alto

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- At its May 23 meeting, the Mountain View City Council is expected to consider transferring one million gallons per day of water supply assurance to the City of East Palo Alto for a one-time payment of $5 million.

The consideration and negotiation between the two cities is in response to East Palo Alto’s water shortage, which has resulted in a moratorium on new development, including affordable housing.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission supplies 85 percent of Mountain View’s potable water for its 78,000 residents and has an agreement that entitles the City of Mountain View to purchase a maximum of 13.46 million gallons per day.

The San Francisco PUC also supplies 100 percent of potable water for East Palo Alto’s 30,000 residents up to a maximum of just 1.963 million gallons daily. The shortage in water supply has resulted in East Palo Alto placing a moratorium on much-needed municipal projects, including construction of a school, affordable housing and two commercial developments.

The same agreement requires the City of Mountain View to purchase a minimum of 8.93 MGD or pay a penalty for unused water, which Mountain View has paid twice in the past 10 years. Although the minimum-use requirement was waived during the state’s drought emergency, the SFPUC has notified Mountain View the requirement will be reinstated starting July 1.

“Helping our neighbors so they can complete important projects like adding schools and increasing the region’s supply of affordable housing, is in line with our City’s priorities,” said City of Mountain View Mayor, Ken Rosenberg. “And the $5 million will help Mountain View offset the SFPUC penalties we expect to incur in the future.”

The City Council will be consider the transfer during the May 23 Council meeting being held at Mountain View City Hall, 500 Castro St. The agenda, including the staff report and recommendations for the water transfer agreement, will be available for public review beginning Friday, May 19 on the city's website, www.MountainView.gov.

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