Valley Water (the Santa Clara Valley Water District) is the primary water resources agency for Santa Clara County, California, the heart of Silicon Valley. The agency manages the region’s water supply, provides flood protection across more than 300 miles of creeks and rivers, and serves as a steward of the local watershed environment.
Tierra Plan worked with Valley Water to build their Surface Water Data Portal and ALERT (Automated Local Evaluation in Real Time) system, a platform that brings together real-time data from stream gauges, precipitation gauges, reservoirs, and creek webcams in a single, accessible place.
A core capability of the ALERT system is its ability to trigger instantaneous alerts based on Valley Water’s real-time telemetered sensors. To support faster, actionable decisions when every minute counts, we implemented two distinct automated notification systems.
Public E19 Alerts give the public and partner agencies early warnings when stream conditions approach or reach flood thresholds. Residents and emergency planners can subscribe to receive SMS notifications for specific stream gauges that matter to them. Because most stream sensors utilize pre-defined trigger levels, subscribers receive advance warning before a nearby creek becomes a hazard.
Internal Operational Alerts utilize SMS and email to flag anomalous conditions for Valley Water staff, such as rapid changes in reservoir levels. When sensor data crosses critical thresholds, the system automatically routes alerts to the appropriate personnel. This targeted automation enables the agency to respond proactively to changing field conditions without requiring around-the-clock manual monitoring of the portal.
Water agencies must adhere to numerous regulatory requirements. In California for example, open data mandates and telemetry requirements compel flood control agencies and water diverters to make their sensor data available to the public. A purpose-built water data portal helps agencies meet these requirements efficiently.
A prime example is the Water Measurement and Reporting Regulations, commonly known as SB 88. Under these rules, large water diverters must publish diversion and telemetered sensor data to a public website hourly. Valley Water has over 100 sensors across dozens of facilities subject to the SB 88 requirements. We developed an interface and API within their surface water portal to ensure Valley Water’s diversion data is updated in real time and is easily accessible.
We collaborated closely with Valley Water to tailor their platform to their specific data-sharing and visualization needs. The platform:
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