Key Water Resources Features

The City of Cupertino lies primarily within the Calabazas Creek Watershed Unit, with portions in Permanente Creek, Saratoga Creek, Stevens Creek, Sunyvale East and Sunnyvale West watersheds. The Stevens Creek Reservoir serves the City’s water supply needs.

Water Supply

Cupertino has two major water suppliers: the California Water Company and the San José Water Company. Both of these retailers purchase their water supply from the Santa Clara Valley Water District. The City recognizes that a sustainable future is intertwined with an adequate supply of clean water. Its General Plan states, “in addition to fundamental health and sanitation, an adequate potable water supply provides significant public and private benefits such as irrigation, ecological habitat, recreation opportunities and aesthetics.” Its efforts have, however, changed from attempting to increase supply (through the creation of dams and reservoirs) to conserving water and increasing efficient usage (through wise planning, xeriscape design and construction of sites, buildings and land uses).

Flood Protection

All water eventually flows to the sea. Controlling flooding also helps control damage from erosion and the transport of pollutants. To rally the community in this effort, the City of Cupertino has encouraged “adoption” of streams by community groups. These organizations participate in clean-ups, restoration, and monitoring. The community is also working with the Santa Clara Valley Water District and other regional agencies to enhance riparian corridors and flood control increasing the flow capacity of creeks. The City is also changing codes to limit paved surfaces and encourage the use of non-impervious materials, onsite infiltration, and water retention facilities.
 

Nearly two and a half centuries ago, as Americans fought for independence far to the east, these lands were traversed by a group of settlers led by Spanish Lieutenant Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza. In 1775-1776, Anza established the first overland route from “New Spain,” as Mexico was then known, to San Francisco, opening the way for expanded Spanish settlement of California. The diaries kept on this nearly 2,000-mile journey were used to identify the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, approximately 6 miles of which pass through the Fort Ord area. Although much of the historic route currently passes through urban areas, the undeveloped expanse of the Fort Ord area is likely quite similar to the open landscape experienced by Anza and by the Costanoan (now commonly referred to as Ohlone) peoples who lived in what is now the Central Coast region of California.

The area’s open, contiguous landscape owes its undeveloped state in large part to its role as a U.S. Army facility. From World War I through the early 1990s, the area’s rugged terrain served as a military training ground and introduced as many as a million and a half American soldiers to the rigors of military service. From its origins in 1917 as a training ground for troops stationed at the nearby Presidio of Monterey, Fort Ord had grown into a major Army installation by the beginning of World War II. During the Vietnam War, it served as a leading training center and deployment staging ground. While the former Fort Ord has few remaining historic structures, today thousands of veterans carry the memory of its dramatic landscape as their first taste of Army life, as a final stop before deploying to war, or as a home base during their military career. These lands are an historical link to the heroism and dedication of the men and women who served our Nation and fought in the major conflicts of the 20th century.