Non-Potable Use of Groundwater in the San Francisco Bay Area

Large-volume users of non-potable water can realize significant cost savings by developing a local groundwater supply instead of purchasing potable municipal water and where tertiary-treated wastewater is not available or is not of acceptable quality.

The San Francisco Bay Area has extensive groundwater basins with good yields, including the following:

San Mateo Plain Groundwater Basin -- from Burlingame to Palo Alto

Santa Clara Valley Groundwater Basin -- from Palo Alto to San Jose

Niles Cone Groundwater Basin -- from Milpitas to Union City

East Bay Plain Groundwater Basin -- from Richmond to Hayward

Livermore Valley Area -- from Dublin and Sunol to Livermore

Also: Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, and Sonoma County

Most of these areas were extensively pumped in the early 1900s. By the middle to late 1900s, use of local groundwater was replaced by use of imported surface water distributed by municipal water systems.

Due to discontinued use of local groundwater and, in some cases, enhanced recharge, there is a significant supply of groundwater available in each of these basins.

The most economical use of this local groundwater is for non-potable purposes, such as irrigation and industrial applications.

Click Here for an example of non-potable use of groundwater.