BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:Title
Determination Whether to Protest Proposed Increases in Sanitary Sewer Rates for Valley Water-Owned Parcels in the City of San Jose.
End
RECOMMENDATION:Recommendation
That Valley Water not protest the increase in sanitary sewer rates proposed by the City of San Jose.
Body
SUMMARY:
In accordance with Proposition 218, the City of San Jose (City) provided the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) with notices of proposed rate increases for sanitary sewer services for several Valley Water-owned parcels within the City’s service area in Fiscal Year 2022. The proposed rate increases will be considered by the San Jose City Council at a public hearing scheduled on June 7, 2022.
The City is proposing a rate increase of up to 8% for residential properties and a rate increase of up to 20.40% for commercial, institutional, and light industrial (non-residential) properties. The proposed rate increases apply to 27 Valley Water-owned residential parcels and one (1) non-residential property in San Jose. A complete listing of the parcels affected by the City’s proposed rate increase is included as Attachment 1, and the notices of proposed rate increases for residential properties and non-residential properties are included as Attachments 2 and 3.
The City is requesting the rate increases to cover costs associated with the San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (Facility) and San Jose’s 2,200-mile sewage collection system, including operations and maintenance, capital and equipment improvements, and administration. The City’s proposed rate increases will go towards ongoing maintenance and needed improvements to ensure reliable utility services, protect public health and safety, and comply with current and future regulatory requirements.
In recognition that the proposed rate increases would pay for critical projects that will address aging infrastructure needs and ongoing maintenance issues throughout the Facility and the City’s sanitary sewer system, and support environmental protection programs to enhance and restore natural habitat while increasing the reliability of the wastewater treatment system, and given that the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center receives treated wastewater from the Facility which is then further purified using advanced treatment processes at the purification center, staff recommends that the Board not protest the proposed rate increases.
If the Board votes not to protest the proposed rate increase, no further action is necessary. If the Board votes instead to protest the proposed rate increase, then staff would communicate that on behalf of the Board to the San Jose City Clerk, prior to the deadline of June 7, 2022.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
There are no Environmental Justice impacts associated with this item.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The proposed rate increases would apply to both a flat rate that currently varies from $377.16 to $499.68 for 27 residential parcels and to a per-hundred cubic feet rate for one (1) non-residential parcel which is currently at $4.02 per hundred cubic feet of sewage discharged.
Valley Water currently pays a combined total of approximately $12,369.12 in sanitary sewer charges per fiscal year. The proposed rate increase would add an additional $1,202.96, resulting in a combined total of approximately $13,572.08 for Fiscal Year 2022.
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under CEQA because it does not have a potential for resulting in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Parcels Affected by Proposed Rate Changes
Attachment 2: Prop 218 Sanitary Sewer Notice (Residential)
Attachment 3: Prop 218 Sanitary Sewer Notice (Non-Residential)
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:Manager
Don Rocha, 408-630-2338