Valley Water Rate Increase

Valley Water (VW), the water wholesaler for Santa Clara County, is raising water rates for all the water utilities it serves. San Jose Water (SJW) pays VW for:

• Imported water treated at one of the three VW water treatment plants
• Groundwater pump taxes for water taken from our wells

Effective July 1, 2023, VW is increasing rates to retailers like SJW. On average, a residential customer with a 3/4-inch meter using 11 ccf (centum cubic feet) per month will see their bill increase by approximately $6.53 (or 5.52%) from $118.30 at present rates, to $124.83 starting in July.

All monies collected for this rate increase go directly to VW and are known as a “pass through.” SJW does not benefit from this rate increase. For more information, please visit ValleyWater.org.

Purchasing water and paying groundwater pump taxes are our #1 cost. Approximately 44 cents of every dollar collected goes back to VW to cover the water supply cost.

What is the relationship between San Jose Water and Valley Water?

• SJW pays imported water charges and groundwater fees to VW.
• SJW buys “imported” water from VW’s three water treatment plants: Rinconada, Santa Teresa and Penitencia.
• SJW also pays a groundwater pump tax to VW when we pump water from our wells.
• We have approximately 100 wells throughout our service area.
• VW is responsible for managing the county’s groundwater basin.

Where does SJW get its water from?

SJW has three sources of water: imported, groundwater and local surface supply.