Emergency water storage/supply

Menlo Park Municipal Water purchases all of its water from San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and distributes it to residents and businesses in Menlo Park. The Emergency Water Storage/Supply Project will provide a backup water supply to the service area located east of El Camino Real, which lacks sufficient emergency storage and supply in the event water from SFPUC is reduced or unavailable.

This project began in 2010 as an Emergency Wells project to install two to three emergency wells in order to meet the goal of providing the City’s average daily demand plus fire flow for a total of 3,000 gallons per minute (gpm). The project included site screening, site ranking, detailed engineering and hydrologic evaluation, and community engagement. In 2013, the City selected the City’s corporation yard at 333 Burgess Drive as the site for the first emergency well. The City drilled the well in 2017 and completed construction of the wellhead facilities (i.e. pump, piping, generator, disinfection equipment, surge control tank) in 2020. The corporation yard well is able to provide 1,500 gpm, half of the City’s goal. In early 2023, the City received approval from the State Water Resources Board to operate the well as a standby well for use during emergencies up to a limited number of days per year.

In addition to emergency wells, the City is also investigating locations for a future underground reservoir to increase supply reliability.

Current status

Corporation Yard Emergency Well, Final Testing

By spring 2024, the City is planning to perform final testing of the corporation yard well to ensure that the well components are working properly. Final testing will require turning on the well pump for a few days and distributing well water into the distribution system (to be blended with the normal SFPUC water). The well water meets safe drinking water standards, and the City will notify impacted residents and businesses prior to turning on the well.

Exploratory Well Drilling

The City is evaluating three sites for emergency wells and is planning to drill temporary wells at the following locations: