May 11, 2021
The Santa Clara Valley Water District, the wholesale water provider for the county, approved water rate hikes in a unanimous vote by its directors Tuesday.
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Valley Water provides water to the San Jose Water Company, the San Jose Municipal Water System and the Great Oaks Water Company, who then sell the water to residents. It also provides flood protection, manages three water filtration plants and several dams in the county.
According to a board presentation, the vote will raise rates by up to 9.1%, an approximate $4.30 to $5.10 increase per month to customers, which would last 10 years. Plans were originally set for last year but were put on hold due to the pandemic. Now, with an impending drought, Valley Water said it needs to act more urgently.
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Board chair Tony Estremera said the increases will help pay for additional emergency water needed to meet the demand of residents and keep groundwater at healthy levels. It will also allow our community to prepare for droughts and other natural disasters by bolstering our water conservation programs, expanding the use of recycled water and starting work on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project, which will protect public safety and increase water storage capacity in the county, Estremera said.
The rate increase will also be used to fund an environmental impact report for the $2.5 billion Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project an aspect that has been met with opposition from San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and environmental group the Sierra Club.
We don t need this project, Liccardo said. Let s let it go.
Under the project, the Santa Clara Valley Water District would expand the Pacheco Reservoir so it can store much more water, giving the South Bay a bigger reserve in a drought.
The agency said its project is being misunderstood and unfairly targeted by the mayor, adding the rate hike claim is incorrect and noting that the agency already has a $500 million grant from the state.
Valley Water officials say they obtained the grant because the project was the best of its kind. It does serve as an emergency water supply for Valley Water, as well as protection for disadvantaged communities. It actually eases some of the pull that we have on the Delta, said Christopher Hakes of the Santa Clara Valley Water District.