HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 15 2026 - Item 8.1 - Armando Be1
Stefan Mercer
From:Armando Be <barmando3@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, June 15, 2026 3:12 PM
To:Council Member Zachary Hilton; Council Member Carol Marques; Council Member Dion
Bracco; Mayor Greg Bozzo; Council Member Kelly Ramirez; Matt Morley; Council
Member Terence Fugazzi; Council Member Tom Cline; Public Comments
Subject:EXTERNAL - Agenda Item 8.1: 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan
Mayor, City Council Members, and City Manager,
I hate to write this late, but I have spent some time researching Valley Waters response to AI
Centers use of water.
Valley Water's last update to its water plan was in 2021, which was the Plan assumptions that were
applied to approve the Amazon's AI center. At this time, Valley Water is currently overhauling its
obsolete 2021 framework which will be replaced by 2026 Groundwater Management Plan, it is
projected to be released at the end of the year. The 2026 Groundwater Management Plan will
finally and explicitly account for the massive water use of AI data centers. Unfortunately, the
City's 2025 plan relies entirely on Valley Water's outdated 2021 data/assumptions and will be
voted on tonight before Valley Water releases its 2026 Groundwater Management Plan.
With the Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center already approved and others likely to follow,
Gilroy is now facing some challenges. Approving a water blueprint based on Valley Water's 2021
Plan that did not account for AI cooling and similar project demands requires some rethinking about
today's action item. I have three concerns:
Threat to Our Only Drinking Water: The AWS facility draws from the Llagas Subbasin, the
sole source of drinking water for Gilroy residents. The City's 2025 Urban Water Management
Plan (UWMP) does not model the cumulative strain of peak-load AI cooling on this specific
aquifer.
The 2025 UWMP was written and will be adopted before Valley Water's 2026 Plan is
finalized: Adopting the 2025 UWMP will satisfy a state paperwork requirement, but it
decouples city policy from hydrological reality. The City's plan is based on obsolete data that
leaves the city highly vulnerable if a new AI or other similar large scale industrial development
project is submitted to approval.
Risk to Residents: Any future developer can rely on the City's 2025 adopted, outdated plan
which does not explicitly budget for AI water draws as written. Everyday residents and small
businesses will ultimately bear the burden of aggressive water restrictions to offset unb udgeted
industrial consumption.
Gilroy cannot afford to operate on blind data until the next mandatory state update in 2030.
I urge the City Council to take the following action tonight:
Vote to adopt the 2025 UWMP only with an explicit, legally binding condition requiring the Utilities
Department to initiate a formal amendment of this UWMP in early 2027, immediately following the
release of Valley Water’s updated 2026 AI water data.
Regards,
Armando Benavides
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