Santa Clara County Climate Resilience
Santa Clara County stretches from the densely urbanized Silicon Valley to the forested ridgelines of the Santa Cruz Mountains and Diablo Range. Low-lying areas along the southern rim of San Francisco Bay are vulnerable to sea level rise, and riverside communities also experience frequent flooding. Climate change is causing heatwaves in inland areas like Gilroy, exacerbated by the heat island effect. While the population of Santa Clara County is perceived as wealthy, areas like Milpitas, East San Jose, and Gilroy include working-class communities and communities of color that are especially vulnerable to climate impacts.
“In a couple years, it will all line up. It won’t just be our city’s plans and capital improvement program, it will be a sub-regional, county level plan. We all recognize we can’t do these projects on our own. We have to collaborate.”
Raymond Wong
Engineer for the City of Mountain View
Working on sea level rise adaptation.
Initiatives
- Santa Clara County Climate Collaborative – Network of public agencies, academia, nonprofits, community-based organizations, businesses, and community leaders to share resources, knowledge, and joint-funding opportunities. There are work groups focused on topics including equity, air quality, sea level rise, and urban forestry.
- Santa Clara County Youth Climate Initiative – Santa Clara County partners with other local organizations to empower local youth to take climate action and provide climate curriculum resources for teachers.
- Gilroy Resilience Hotspot – Nonprofit Greenbelt Alliance chose Gilroy as one of their five resilience hotspots in the Bay Area because of its triple vulnerability to flooding, wildfire, and extreme heat. Greenbelt Alliance is now working with community groups to develop Community Resilient Centers and has released a Be Ready Gilroy disaster preparedness toolkit.
- Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action – Youth-led nonprofit that empowers youth to take action through climate education and policy advocacy. There are action teams located in cities throughout Santa Clara.
- South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project – To protect South Bay cities from sea level rise, this long-term project is restoring 15,100 acres of salt ponds to tidal marsh. KneeDeep Times has reported on this project over the years, including a recent milestone accomplished in Mountain View.
Resources
- SILICON VALLEY 2.0 Climate Change Preparedness Tool – Look at different climate change scenarios to see how hazards like sea level rise, river flooding, wildfire, and extreme heat will impact people and infrastructure in Santa Clara County.
- County of Santa Clara – Sustainability Master Plan (2021) and Progress Dashboard – See how the County is progressing towards its sustainability goals in four priority areas: climate protection and defense, natural resources and environment, community health and wellbeing, and a prosperous and just economy.
- County of Santa Clara Community Climate Roadmap 2035 – Plan to reach carbon neutrality at the county level and unincorporated areas.
- Santa Clara County Climate Network Map – Learn about each city’s climate plans and find local climate organizations.
- Resilience Solutions Catalog – A list compiled by the Santa Clara County Climate Collaborative, showing nature-based solutions, policy interventions, and case studies relevant to climate hazards in Santa Clara County.
- Vision to Implementation Guide and Resilience Project Mapping Tool – Two resources made to be used together to help jurisdictions and community organizations plan funding-ready climate resilience projects. The Resilience Mapping Tool helps communities identify priority areas for resilience projects.
- Santa Clara Public Health – Climate Change and Health Indicators StoryMap
- Valley Water – Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) and Biennial Reports
Government
- Santa Clara County – Office of Sustainability and Resilience
- Valley Water – Water conservation and flood protection.
- Climate Smart San Jose
- City of Cupertino – Environment and Sustainability Department
- City of Mountain View – City Manager’s Office – Sustainability and Resiliency
- Silicon Valley Clean Energy – Local CCA energy provider.
- San Jose Clean Energy – Local CCA energy provider.
For disaster preparedness and alerts go to our Disaster Prep hub listing.
Key Contacts
- Gillian Corral, Santa Clara County Sustainability Manager
- Julie Benebente, Deputy Director for the City of San José’s Environmental Services Department
- Victoria Morin, City of Cupertino Sustainability Specialist
- Danielle Yee, Chief Sustainability and Resiliency Officer at City of Mountain View
- John Bourgeois Deputy Operating Officer (Watershed Stewardship and Planning Division) at Valley Water
- Dave Halsing, Project Manager for South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, California State Coastal Conservancy
Read Related Stories in KneeDeep
- Mountain View Marsh Boosts Nature-Based Infrastructure (March 2026)
- How Santa Clara Addresses Flooding Risks to the Unhoused (December 2025)
- King Kong Levee: Two Miles Done, Two To Go (October 2025)
- Delivering BART Muck to South Bay Marshes? (August 2024)
- Changemaker Gets to Know Gilroy (May 2024)
- KneeDeep Stories about Santa Clara County
