Gloria Way Well

Gloria Way Well Project
The City of East Palo Alto receives the majority of its water supply from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). The city has a current water supply normal year allocation of 2,199 acre-feet a year (AFY) from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC).The city’s 2010 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) shows a current demand of 2,200 acre-feet per year (AFY) rising to 3,400 AFY by 2035, exceeding supply by 1,200 AFY.

Thus, the Gloria Way Well Feasibility and Water Security Study was commissioned to adequately support current needs, and future growth. The study has two phases:

• Phase I defines the feasibility of rehabilitating the Gloria Way well.
• Phase II will provide environmental clearance and construction documents for execution.

The study recommended the following key tasks be implemented:

• Groundwater management and protection is prevent mining the groundwater resource and ensure its highest beneficial, sustainable use to meet the city’s demands.
• Monitoring of groundwater levels and water quality conditions to help manage the resource and prevent the risks of land subsidence and saline water intrusion from the bay.
• A Groundwater Monitoring Plan and a Groundwater Management Plan (GWMP) should be developed for the city to comply with state law, and to protect the resource. The groundwater management plan and monitoring program should encompass the groundwater sub-basin, including coordination with willing neighbor agencies and other stakeholders.
• A robust three-dimensional groundwater flow model should be constructed to assess the potential risks of impacts under various pumping scenarios from sub-basin users.
• A more refined prediction of potential land subsidence should be performed using geo-technical soil compaction models.
• It is recommended that the city proceed with design and construction of the Gloria Way Well treatment system, with initial pumping at flow rates below the 300 gallons-per-minute capacity of the well, modifying pumping rates as monitoring and modeling studies and data indicate.
• The city should proceed with the hydrogeologic investigation of Pad D as a preferred additional future well site to help augment existing supplies and meet future demands.
• Two parcels have been identified as potential sites for water storage tanks: one at the northeast corner of University and Bay Road, and another at the east corner of Newell and West Bayshore.
• Going forward the city is currently undertaking the Environmental Clearance and Permitting for the Gloria Way Well project, as recommended in the study.