How Affordable Is Your Water? Ensuring Reliable ... AWS
Ease and Convenience of Automatic Billing and Payment with eBill and ePay Are you looking for an easy way to pay your water bill? SJWC offers more convenient ways to pay than ever before. No more checks, no more standing in line, and never miss a payment again! SJWC’s free eBill service allows you to receive an e-mail notification when your bill is available for review. After reviewing the bill online, you have the option of paying by mail, phone, in the office, or online. Paying bills online has never been more convenient and secure than with SJWC’s ePay program. ePay allows you to make one-time payments using SJWC’s secured website. Funds are automatically withdrawn from your checking account, and confirmation of your payment is sent via e-mail. SJWC’s Automatic Payment Service allows you the freedom of never having to write another check again. This program automatically deducts the amount due from your checking or savings account on or shortly after the due date. That leaves you plenty of time to contact SJWC should you have any questions about the bill. Enrolling is easy, fast, and free. Join the tens of thousands of our customers who are already enjoying the benefits of eBill and ePay.
To find out more, visit us at www.sjwater.com or contact us at (408) 279-7900.
San Jose Water Company
Lexington Reservoir 2014
SJWC customers can now also pay their water bill electronically using our automated telephone system. If you would like to make a payment by phone, just call (855) 771-7900, and follow the prompts. You will be directed to an automated system in which your payment can be deducted from either your checking or your savings account. You no longer need to speak with a Customer Service Representative to make a payment. This service is available 24 hours a day and is free of charge.
Clean, adequate, safe, and reliable drinking water more than just quenches our thirst. It also protects public health, grows our economy, and provides a high quality of life. After decades of delivering high quality and reliable water service, our nation’s water systems are badly in need of upgrades and repair. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, almost $335 billion of investments are needed over the next 20 years to ensure the nation’s water systems can continue to provide safe and reliable service. California leads the way with $39 billion in water infrastructure improvement needs over the next 20 years.
Is Your Contact Information Current? We want to make sure we can get in touch with you when needed. Please send us your current home and cell phone numbers to [email protected].
San Jose Water Company (SJWC) faces the same challenges as our water system approaches its 150th year of service. Previous generations invested in the water system, so we could enjoy reliable water service. It is now our turn to pay it forward and make those investments so that future generations also benefit. Many water system components such as pipes, wells, and tanks, have reached the end of their useful lives and require replacement. Waiting until they fail is simply not an option.
San Jose Water Company 110 West Taylor Street, San Jose, CA 95110 (408) 279-7900 • Se Habla Español www.sjwater.com At your service since 1866 Printed on Recycled Paper 30316-I-0040
Ensuring Reliable Water Service for Future Generations
Replacing critical water system components like tanks and pipes is just one of the many challenges facing water systems today. Others include water Providing safe and reliable water and exceptional customer service since 1866.
supply availability, increasingly stringent water quality compliance requirements, and declining usage. All these factors are increasing the cost of service. However, these costs are being managed through careful planning, innovative deployment of technology, and sound engineering and construction. Continued investments to repair, replace, and rehabilitate the water system also create thousands of local jobs and help stimulate the local economy.
At less than a penny a gallon, tap water remains one of the lowest cost utility bills—a true bargain considering the resources and expertise it takes to treat and deliver safe and reliable water to your tap 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. For most households, you can cook, clean, and do laundry for a little more than $2.50 a day. When compared to other products we use every day, tap water is clearly one of the best deals around!
How Affordable Is Your Water? A widely used benchmark for wa$16/gallon coffee ter affordability is published by the United States Environmental $11.35/gallon Protection Agency, and it shows bottled water* that annual water bills amounting $4.50/gallon to less than 2.5% of the median milk household income are considered to be affordable. SJWC’s current $3/gallon gasoline average monthly bill for water service is approximately $77 $2.75/gallon soda (or about $154 per two-month billing period), which represents Less than a penny per gallon approximately 1% of the median tap water household income in the Santa Clara Valley (based on 2010 *based on California averages Census data).
Conservation and Rates Some customers may ask: Why do my rates go up when I reduce my water use by 20%? And why isn’t my bill reduced by a proportional amount?
From the utility’s standpoint, their fixed and variable costs are broken down as follows. When we bill for service, the fixed and variable costs components are reversed due to regulatory requirements as shown below.
Utility (cost of service) Fixed
It’s a good question and the explaVariable nation requires an understanding Total cost to of fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs include water mains or pipes, wells, pumps, valves, tanks, and fire hydrants among many other items. These costs do not change based on water use and account for 70% of SJWC’s total cost. In your household, the rent or mortgage you pay is a fixed cost because it does not change based on the number of people living in the home.
SJWC
Customer (water bill) 7.00
Service (meter) charge
3.00
Volumetric charge ($0.7/ccf)
$10.00
7.00 $10.00
If the customer uses 10 units of water as shown above, then the utility’s cost of service is equal to the amount billed even though the proportion of fixed and variable costs differ. Now let us consider the same example when the customer conserves 20% and now only uses 8 units. The water utility’s fixed cost remains the same at $7.00 to pay for the costs of delivering water to the tap regardless of how much or how little is consumed. The variable cost is reduced 20% from $3.00 to $2.40. However, the customer is only billed $8.60 as shown below.
Variable costs include electricity, chemicals, equipment, and labor which can change based on actual water use. These costs make up the remaining 30%. Similarly, your household costs for groceries and utilities can vary depending on the number of people living in the home. Utility (cost of service) Fixed
Total bill
3.00
Drought Watch 2015 After three years of below average rainfall, the Santa Clara Valley would need plentiful precipitation this winter to fill our reservoirs and recharge our groundwater basins. To ensure adequate water supplies remain available, the Santa Clara Valley Water District has extended the call for 20% conservation through July 1, 2015. Water conservation rules will remain in effect through this date. SJWC offers a comprehensive water conservation program that includes free water audits, educational materials, and low-flow devices to help our customers conserve water. Visit our website at www.sjwater.com for a full listing of the conservation rules and other helpful information.
Where Your Dollar Goes Safe and reliable water service is essential to maintain public health, firefighting capability, and economic prosperity…all things that contribute to the quality of life that we enjoy. In order to protect public health and safety and to continue to provide reliable service, SJWC must increase investments in all water system components, such as pipelines, wells, pumps, and tanks when they reach the end of their useful lives.
Water Supply Costs
Operating Costs
System Improvements Taxes & Fees
35¢
23¢
23¢
11¢
Cost of Capital
8¢
At SJWC, our goal is to deliver high quality water and exceptional customer service at the lowest possible cost. We work hard to provide the best water service in the industry and have an excellent track record of efficient operations. As the dollar bill infographic illustrates, there are some costs over which we have no control. Nearly half of each dollar you spend with us on water goes to cover water supply costs and to pay federal, state, and local taxes.
Customer (water bill) 7.00
Service (meter) charge
3.00
Let’s apply the fixed and variable Variable 2.40 Volumetric charge ($0.7/ccf) 5.60 cost concepts to a very simple Total cost to SJWC $9.40 Total bill $8.60 example. Suppose a water utility projects it will sell 10 units of water Because the total bill is now less than the cost of in the coming year. The total cost to proservice, the unit rate or variable charge for water duce the 10 units is $10 so the utility must must be increased to recover the difference. Deultimately bill $10 to cover the total cost of pending on your actual water usage, this may not service. necessarily result in a higher total water bill.
35¢ Water Supply Costs include costs from the
Santa Clara Valley Water District for both the purchase of treated water and the required charge to extract groundwater from the underground aquifer. 23¢ Operating Costs include operations, main-
tenance, purchased power from PG&E, and administrative expenses.
23¢ System Improvements include capital im-
provement costs associated with our water distribution system and depreciation. 11¢ Taxes and Fees include federal, state, and
local taxes.
8¢ Cost of Capital includes the interest paid
on the debt and the return paid on the equity required to finance water system improvements.
To find out more, visit us at www.sjwater.com or contact us at (408) 279-7900.
San Jose Water Company
Lexington Reservoir 2014
SJWC customers can now also pay their water bill electronically using our automated telephone system. If you would like to make a payment by phone, just call (855) 771-7900, and follow the prompts. You will be directed to an automated system in which your payment can be deducted from either your checking or your savings account. You no longer need to speak with a Customer Service Representative to make a payment. This service is available 24 hours a day and is free of charge.
Clean, adequate, safe, and reliable drinking water more than just quenches our thirst. It also protects public health, grows our economy, and provides a high quality of life. After decades of delivering high quality and reliable water service, our nation’s water systems are badly in need of upgrades and repair. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, almost $335 billion of investments are needed over the next 20 years to ensure the nation’s water systems can continue to provide safe and reliable service. California leads the way with $39 billion in water infrastructure improvement needs over the next 20 years.
Is Your Contact Information Current? We want to make sure we can get in touch with you when needed. Please send us your current home and cell phone numbers to [email protected].
San Jose Water Company (SJWC) faces the same challenges as our water system approaches its 150th year of service. Previous generations invested in the water system, so we could enjoy reliable water service. It is now our turn to pay it forward and make those investments so that future generations also benefit. Many water system components such as pipes, wells, and tanks, have reached the end of their useful lives and require replacement. Waiting until they fail is simply not an option.
San Jose Water Company 110 West Taylor Street, San Jose, CA 95110 (408) 279-7900 • Se Habla Español www.sjwater.com At your service since 1866 Printed on Recycled Paper 30316-I-0040
Ensuring Reliable Water Service for Future Generations
Replacing critical water system components like tanks and pipes is just one of the many challenges facing water systems today. Others include water Providing safe and reliable water and exceptional customer service since 1866.
supply availability, increasingly stringent water quality compliance requirements, and declining usage. All these factors are increasing the cost of service. However, these costs are being managed through careful planning, innovative deployment of technology, and sound engineering and construction. Continued investments to repair, replace, and rehabilitate the water system also create thousands of local jobs and help stimulate the local economy.
At less than a penny a gallon, tap water remains one of the lowest cost utility bills—a true bargain considering the resources and expertise it takes to treat and deliver safe and reliable water to your tap 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. For most households, you can cook, clean, and do laundry for a little more than $2.50 a day. When compared to other products we use every day, tap water is clearly one of the best deals around!
How Affordable Is Your Water? A widely used benchmark for wa$16/gallon coffee ter affordability is published by the United States Environmental $11.35/gallon Protection Agency, and it shows bottled water* that annual water bills amounting $4.50/gallon to less than 2.5% of the median milk household income are considered to be affordable. SJWC’s current $3/gallon gasoline average monthly bill for water service is approximately $77 $2.75/gallon soda (or about $154 per two-month billing period), which represents Less than a penny per gallon approximately 1% of the median tap water household income in the Santa Clara Valley (based on 2010 *based on California averages Census data).
Conservation and Rates Some customers may ask: Why do my rates go up when I reduce my water use by 20%? And why isn’t my bill reduced by a proportional amount?
From the utility’s standpoint, their fixed and variable costs are broken down as follows. When we bill for service, the fixed and variable costs components are reversed due to regulatory requirements as shown below.
Utility (cost of service) Fixed
It’s a good question and the explaVariable nation requires an understanding Total cost to of fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs include water mains or pipes, wells, pumps, valves, tanks, and fire hydrants among many other items. These costs do not change based on water use and account for 70% of SJWC’s total cost. In your household, the rent or mortgage you pay is a fixed cost because it does not change based on the number of people living in the home.
SJWC
Customer (water bill) 7.00
Service (meter) charge
3.00
Volumetric charge ($0.7/ccf)
$10.00
7.00 $10.00
If the customer uses 10 units of water as shown above, then the utility’s cost of service is equal to the amount billed even though the proportion of fixed and variable costs differ. Now let us consider the same example when the customer conserves 20% and now only uses 8 units. The water utility’s fixed cost remains the same at $7.00 to pay for the costs of delivering water to the tap regardless of how much or how little is consumed. The variable cost is reduced 20% from $3.00 to $2.40. However, the customer is only billed $8.60 as shown below.
Variable costs include electricity, chemicals, equipment, and labor which can change based on actual water use. These costs make up the remaining 30%. Similarly, your household costs for groceries and utilities can vary depending on the number of people living in the home. Utility (cost of service) Fixed
Total bill
3.00
Drought Watch 2015 After three years of below average rainfall, the Santa Clara Valley would need plentiful precipitation this winter to fill our reservoirs and recharge our groundwater basins. To ensure adequate water supplies remain available, the Santa Clara Valley Water District has extended the call for 20% conservation through July 1, 2015. Water conservation rules will remain in effect through this date. SJWC offers a comprehensive water conservation program that includes free water audits, educational materials, and low-flow devices to help our customers conserve water. Visit our website at www.sjwater.com for a full listing of the conservation rules and other helpful information.
Where Your Dollar Goes Safe and reliable water service is essential to maintain public health, firefighting capability, and economic prosperity…all things that contribute to the quality of life that we enjoy. In order to protect public health and safety and to continue to provide reliable service, SJWC must increase investments in all water system components, such as pipelines, wells, pumps, and tanks when they reach the end of their useful lives.
Water Supply Costs
Operating Costs
System Improvements Taxes & Fees
35¢
23¢
23¢
11¢
Cost of Capital
8¢
At SJWC, our goal is to deliver high quality water and exceptional customer service at the lowest possible cost. We work hard to provide the best water service in the industry and have an excellent track record of efficient operations. As the dollar bill infographic illustrates, there are some costs over which we have no control. Nearly half of each dollar you spend with us on water goes to cover water supply costs and to pay federal, state, and local taxes.
Customer (water bill) 7.00
Service (meter) charge
3.00
Let’s apply the fixed and variable Variable 2.40 Volumetric charge ($0.7/ccf) 5.60 cost concepts to a very simple Total cost to SJWC $9.40 Total bill $8.60 example. Suppose a water utility projects it will sell 10 units of water Because the total bill is now less than the cost of in the coming year. The total cost to proservice, the unit rate or variable charge for water duce the 10 units is $10 so the utility must must be increased to recover the difference. Deultimately bill $10 to cover the total cost of pending on your actual water usage, this may not service. necessarily result in a higher total water bill.
35¢ Water Supply Costs include costs from the
Santa Clara Valley Water District for both the purchase of treated water and the required charge to extract groundwater from the underground aquifer. 23¢ Operating Costs include operations, main-
tenance, purchased power from PG&E, and administrative expenses.
23¢ System Improvements include capital im-
provement costs associated with our water distribution system and depreciation. 11¢ Taxes and Fees include federal, state, and
local taxes.
8¢ Cost of Capital includes the interest paid
on the debt and the return paid on the equity required to finance water system improvements.
