Development proposals in one of the least affluent communities in the Silicon Valley have repeatedly been scuttled due to a lack of water. Wealthier communities have more than enough.
"Hundreds of units of affordable housing and millions of square feet of commercial construction in East Palo Alto cannot be developed because the city doesn't have enough water," reports Sue Dremann. The project's demise is only the latest twist in the ongoing story about East Palo Alto's efforts to invest in their community running into a wall of water shortages.
Dremann notes that East Palo Alto is currently allotted 1.96 million gallons per day by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). Using 57 gallons per day, East Palo Alto's residents use less water per capita than any other wholesale water customers supplied by SFPUC. Residents in the nearby, affluent city of Hillsborough use 302 gallons per day.
In June, East Palo Alto officials responded to the latest development setback by requesting an additional 1.5 million gallons of water a day. In March, Tara Lohan reported on East Palo Alto's ongoing efforts to secure more water supply. In May, Sam Levin reported on another project that stalled for want of water: a free school for low-income students funded by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan.
FULL STORY: East Palo Alto runs out of water, development on hold
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