Drought concerns lead Cupertino to cancel July 4th fireworks show

CUPERTINO, Calif. (KTVU) -- South Bay cities are being extra cautious about their July 4 fireworks celebrations given the severe drought. The City of Cupertino canceled fireworks this year saying it wastes 100,000 gallons of water to prepare the field.

So far, no other cities have followed Cupertino's lead and canceled their shows. The city of Milpitas and the big fireworks show in San Jose are happening as planned.

"I thought I feel so fortunate that we are not in a site that requires that because absolutely we wouldn't think of using that much water," said Marianne Salas of the San Jose Rotary Club.

Salas re-ignited San Jose's largest fireworks show after a six-year hiatus. She said it costs roughly $100,000 to put on but not much water. The show launches on the lawn behind the Children's Discovery Museum. 

The lawn is irrigated with recycled water from a water treatment plant in Alviso. Salas said the driving force behind the show were heightened concerns with the drought and illegal fireworks in the East Foothills.

"Part of the reason why we are repeating is because of the drought," said Salas. "We don't want to see illegal fireworks that are fire hazards that are dangerous."

The City of Milpitas launches its fireworks show at the baseball fields at the Milpitas Sports Center.

"This year we want to make sure we have extra conservation and have a plan for it," said Renee Lorentzen who is the Milpitas Parks and Recreation Manager. "This year we are going to use our reclaimed and recycled water."

Given the drought, the city will be using 1,800 gallons of recycled water to water down these fields. It's move the city thinks can still allow the show to go on. Families in Cupertino wished that could be in Cupertino.

"I feel sad because there's no fireworks this year," said Emma Neyer of Cupertino.

In Santa Clara, Great America told KTVU it only uses recycled water for its fireworks show.