Earlier today, San Jose Water's CEO Eric W. Thornburg and President and COO Andrew Gere were joined by Los Gatos Mayor Rob Rennie, and Santa Clara Valley Water District Director Gary Kremen to unveil the SJW's newest, state-of-the-art water treatment facility. The ceremony included HDR Constructor's President Doug Lisak, HDR as the design-build partner helped to bring this project through design and construction and has supported it's return to operation. INGE GmbH/BASF' s Managing Director Daniela Calleri joined the team to celebrate the critical role BASF played in delivering the leading edge ultrafiltration membrane technology that helped to modernize this facility.
Montevina has grown and changed dramatically since it's original incarnation as a reservoir built to hold mountain run-off in the mid-1940's.
In 1970, the first generation water treatment plant was built next to the Montevina Reservoir. Over the decades that followed new modern technologies were added to meet changing water treatment standards.
Today, San Jose Water unveiled a totally upgraded Ultrafiltration Water Treatment Plant following the completion of more than $60 million in infrastructure improvements, included the largest U.S. installation BASF's ultrafiltration fiber technology to clean and remove bacteria and viruses from water, ensuring it meets the highest water safety standards available.
Fun facts about the plant:
- It can treat 3 - 5 billion gallons of water each year.
- It serves 100,000 people during the summer months and up to 300,000 people during the winter months.
- Laid end-to-end the ultrafiltration fibers would stretch from San Jose to Chicago!
Check out the drone video we made and follow your water as it makes its way from the Santa Cruz Mountain Watershed, through the treatment process, and to your taps by clicking on the link below!