COMMITTEE AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Water Supply and Demand Management Committee
Government Code § 84308 Applies: Yes ☐ No ☒
(If “YES” Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code § 84308)
SUBJECT: title
Receive an Update on the Implementation of Valley Water’s Water Rate Assistance Program, Including its Current Status and Metrics to Date.
End
RECOMMENDATION: Recommendation
Receive an update on the implementation of Valley Water’s Water Rate Assistance Program, including its current status and metrics to date.
Body
SUMMARY:
On July 13, 2021, the Board of Directors approved the implementation of the Low-Income Residential Water Rate Assistance Program (now called WRAP) to help low-income households in Santa Clara County who had been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with paying their water bills. The Board approved $1.225 million to cover the program's total cost, including $1 million to disburse to the community and up to $225,000 to cover third-party administration costs. Due to continued need, the Board voted on April 26, 2022, to extend the program and to provide an additional $1 million for community relief and up to $225,000 for administrative costs. On May 27, 2025, the Board voted to approve the operating and capital rolling biennial budget, which included WRAP funding of $1 million per year for community relief and up to $333,333 annually for program development, implementation, and administrative costs. Finally, on April 28, 2026, the Board approved the staff recommendation to augment annual relief funding by $250,000, bringing the total funding for community relief to $1.25 million per fiscal year in 2027 and 2028, to avoid a funding gap in each of those years.
To date, the Board has provided $3 million in relief funding for low-income families and committed an additional $2.5 million in relief funding for continued WRAP implementation through 2028.
In 2021, Valley Water selected Sacred Heart Community Service (SHCS) as the third-party WRAP administrator. SHCS officially launched the program in November 2021 and has implemented it since then. They initially reached out to their database of over 40,000 low-income households who previously qualified for emergency financial assistance under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). SHCS also works with other Emergency Assistance Network (EAN) partners throughout the County to share information on WRAP. In addition to SHCS’s outreach, Valley Water also actively promotes WRAP to ensure community awareness.
Since the launch of WRAP in November 2021, SHCS has disbursed over $2.5 million in financial assistance to pay 5,501 water bills for low-income households in Santa Clara County. Based on WRAP's historical baseline data from the first two program cycles, participating households are experiencing extreme financial hardships. For example,
the average household income of participants was $26,412, which is less than 50% of the self-sufficiency standard ($57,034) for a single adult in Santa Clara County. Of the participating households, 2,543 included a person aged 60 or older; 1,186 included children under age 5; and 679 included a person with a disability.
The households served to date span across 11 water retailers, with over 60% being clients of the San Jose Water Company, the largest water retailer in Santa Clara County. Funds have been disbursed to residents of 13 of the 15 cities in Santa Clara County; only Los Altos (95024) and Monte Sereno (95030) have residents who have not yet received WRAP relief.
Below is a breakdown of program participation by retailers for the current program year.
• San Jose Water Co.: 64%
• City of San Jose: 11%
• Landlords & Property Managers: 5%
• Other retailers: 20%
As WRAP transitions from an emergency response program into a longer-term, sustainable assistance model, Valley Water remains committed to improving program implementation and enhancing opportunities to connect eligible households to much-needed resources. Staff have begun and continue to expand collaborating with regional partners and other Customer Assistance Programs to identify opportunities to raise awareness about and streamline and facilitate access to available assistance programs. However, successfully expanding program access will likely increase demand for limited program resources.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
Delivery of this Water Rate Assistance Program update is not subject to environmental justice analysis because it is unlikely to result in human health or environmental impacts. However, continued support for relief funding under the WRAP program supports the health of vulnerable households by ensuring continued access to safe, clean drinking water.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: PowerPoint
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Rachael Gibson, 408-630-2884