San Jose celebrates city's 1st green stormwater infrastructure project

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- San Jose is celebrating a major milestone in the city's clean water and sustainability initiatives.

City officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday morning to showcase the city's first green stormwater infrastructure project.

It's called the Riverview Stormwater Garden, and it can be found near the corner of Riverview Parkway and Skytop Street in San Jose.

This five-acre bioretention project has been years in the making, and it's meant to combine natural stormwater treatment with existing flood control measures.

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The city says it's expected to, not only enhance water quality but also reduce pollution and maintain essential flood management functions.

This basin was first constructed more than 45 years ago as a method to temporarily store water during heavy rainfall.

But this new project will now divert and treat low stormwater flows by doing filtration and plant uptake before the water is discharged into the Guadalupe River.

The city says it supports long-term sustainability efforts while improving the resilience of the local stormwater management system.