Your Government » Departments & Offices » Environmental Services » Water Utilities » Regional Wastewater Facility » Capital Improvement Program

Plant Master Plan

Adopted in late 2013 by the San José and Santa Clara City Councils, the original Plant Master Plan (PMP) established a 30-year roadmap to rebuild the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF) into a world-class wastewater treatment plant.

Development and Approvals

  •  2007–2010: The Environmental Services Department (ESD) led a three-year collaborative process to develop master plan alternatives, incorporating extensive input from the community, stakeholders, agencies, and experts.
  •  April 2011: Both city councils authorized staff to proceed with the environmental review process for the recommended alternative plan.
  • Late 2013: Following recommendations from the Planning Commission, the Transportation and Environment Committee, and the Treatment Plant Advisory Committee, the San José City Council adopted the PMP on November 19, 2013, with the Santa Clara City Council following suit in December 2013.

Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Certification

To satisfy the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was conducted to evaluate the plan's environmental footprint:

  • The Draft EIR underwent an extended 60-day public comment period ending in March 2013.
  • The First Amendment to the Draft EIR (including responses to public comments) was published on October 18, 2013.
  • The Planning Commission officially certified the final EIR in October 2013. All related documents remain accessible in the Planning Department's EIR Library.

Initial Scope and Early Validation

The original PMP identified more than 100 capital improvement projects totaling over $2.1 billion. In early 2014, a validation process streamlined and prioritized these needs, alongside newly identified "gap" projects, into a targeted list of 33 projects to be initiated over the first 10 years.

The 2025 Technical Update: Progress & Next Steps

In 2025, the City completed a technical update to the PMP, which supersedes the original plan. This update documents the capital improvements and modernization milestones achieved since 2014, including approximately $1.2 billion investment in critical rehabilitation and upgrades, while re-evaluating and reprioritizing the remaining projects to secure RWF operations for the next 25 years.

PLANT MASTER PLAN DOCUMENTS

Updated 2025 Plant Master Plan Executive Summary

Updated 2025 Plant Master Plan

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Download Acrobat Reader Download Windows Media Player Download Word Viewer Download Excel Viewer Download PowerPoint Viewer