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Water Rates

About Pleasanton’s Water Rates

The City of Pleasanton is committed to maintaining an equitable and justifiable rate structure that supports reliable water service and long-term financial sustainability. Pleasanton’s water system is funded by a separate Water Enterprise Fund, which covers all water-related services and infrastructure. 

The City purchases 100% of its water from the Zone 7 Water Agency, which charges the City both fixed and variable costs. The city’s utility bills also include applicable city rates for water (both fixed and variable), sewer, irrigation, and recycled water. Sewer rates include local collection charges from the City of Pleasanton, as well as pass-through charges for wastewater treatment from the Dublin-San Ramon District (DSRSD) or City of Livermore.

History of Pleasanton Water Rates

Delivering safe, reliable water requires extensive infrastructure and ongoing maintenance. Over time, the cost of providing water service has increased. To keep pace, the City and Zone 7 Water Agency regularly review their rates in response to rising costs, new regulations, and evolving system requirements.

From 2011 to 2023, while Zone 7 raised its fixed and variable water rates, the City’s water rates were adjusted only for inflation. During this period, the City also provided the first 20 CCF (hundred cubic feet) of water free of charge to all customers.

In 2022, the City discontinued use of its groundwater wells due to concerns about PFAS and began relying entirely on imported water from Zone 7. This shift significantly increased the cost of water. In 2023, the City approved a two-year emergency rate increase to stabilize funding and support critical infrastructure needs. The new rates, a 30% increase and a 12% increase, took effect in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Water Rate Update – 2025

Like most water providers across California, Pleasanton is facing challenges related to aging infrastructure, stricter regulatory requirements, higher water quality standards, and rising construction costs. Since 2023, the City has taken a strategic, progressive approach to planning for the future of its water system.

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Emergency repairs can cost up to 10 times more than proactive infrastructure maintenance and upgrades.

Water Rate Update 2025: Rate-Setting Process

To fund these critical improvements and maintain financial responsibility, the City is implementing a strategic, structured three-step process to ensure its rates reflect the actual cost of service, support long-term investments, and uphold the financial health of the water enterprise fund. In September 2024, the City officially began its rate-setting process by contracting with Water Resources Economics, LLC, to conduct a comprehensive water rate study and develop cost-based, equitable, and legally defensible rates in compliance with Proposition 218 and industry best practices.

Status: Adopted January 2025

In January 2025, Pleasanton completed its first long-term water planning document, the Water System Management Plan (WSMP). This document serves as the foundation for completing the 2025 Water Rate Study in a financially and strategically sound manner. The WSMP:

  • Outlines all water system assets
  • Identifies capital improvement and maintenance needs over the next 20 years
  • Guides near-, mid-, and long-term system improvements
  • Serves as the foundation for all future rate-setting and financial planning

Status: Completed March 2025 

In March 2025, the City conducted a financial analysis and identified funding scenarios to establish the financial framework for prioritizing and funding critical water infrastructure projects over the next five years. The analysis included:  

  • Operational costs, infrastructure needs, and revenue options
  • Long-term impacts on financial stability and ratepayers
  • Informed a prioritized investment strategy to complete $73 million in Critical Infrastructure Projects in the next five years 

The City Council approved the enhanced project delivery model, which takes a balanced approach by accelerating the most critical infrastructure upgrades while minimizing long-term risk to the City. Learn More

Status: In Progress

The final step in the rate-setting process is determining recommended rates and a rate structure that aligns with the needs of the WSMP and the funding priorities outlined in the Financial Analysis and Plan, to ensure rates adequately reflect the City’s cost of service. This step includes:

  • A complete cost-of-service analysis and rate study to ensure equity and legal compliance
  • Updated connection fees to reflect current infrastructure demands 
  • Proposed changes to the rates, rate structures, and related fees 
  • A formal Proposition 218 process for public notification, comment, and adoption

The City will host a formal public hearing to adopt the latest fees in October 2025. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the City proposing?

The City is conducting a comprehensive water rate study and adjusting its rates for potable water (i.e., drinking water), recycled water, drought and shortage charges, and connection fees for the next four years, beginning January 1, 2026. The City Council is expected to formally consider adopting the proposed rate adjustments during a public hearing on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at 6 p.m.

The City must regularly assess its water rates and fees to ensure they address the industry’s growing challenges and sufficiently cover the City’s cost of service. The City relies on revenues from water rates to fund the operations and maintenance of the local water system. Like most water providers across California, Pleasanton faces challenges related to aging infrastructure, stricter regulatory requirements, higher water quality standards, and rising construction costs. 

Top factors driving the City’s proposed rate increases include:  

  • Investing $73 million over the next five years to maintain, repair, and replace the City’s aging water infrastructure to improve its long-term reliability and functionality.
  • Adjusting the City’s rate structure for single-family customers from a tiered to a uniform rate structure. 
  • Achieving full cost recovery on Zone 7 fixed costs to the City. 
  • Keeping up with rising costs in various services, including construction, water supply, energy, and professional staffing. 
  • Securing a sustainable, safe local water supply.  
  • Investing in technology to mitigate risk and enhance the City’s water system.  
  • Meeting increasing regulatory mandates and requirements.

Since 2023, the City has adopted a strategic and systematic approach to investing in the future of its water system. In September 2024, the City officially began its rate-setting process by contracting with Water Resources Economics, LLC, to conduct a comprehensive water rate study and develop cost-based, equitable, and legally defensible rates in compliance with Proposition 218 and industry best practices.

In January 2025, the City adopted its first Water System Management Plan (WSMP), outlining its water system assets, recommended capital improvement needs, and operational and maintenance requirements for the next 20 years. Building on this plan, the City conducted a financial analysis to explore how to proceed with these future investments. The City approved an enhanced delivery method that balances the urgency of critical infrastructure upgrades while minimizing long-term risks to the City. These steps set the foundation and financial framework for conducting a comprehensive water rate study. This study included a cost-of-service analysis and recommended changes to the rate structure and rates that align with the WSMP’s needs and the funding priorities outlined in the Financial Analysis to ensure that rates adequately reflect the City’s cost of service. 

If approved, the new rates would take effect on January 1st of each year for the next four years, starting on January 1, 2026.

Fixed charges are established fees for customers, regardless of water usage. These charges remain constant and are determined by the customer’s water meter size. Customers in Pleasanton have two fixed charges on their bills: one from the City for water delivery and another from Zone 7 for supplying the water. City fixed costs include staffing, maintenance, meter reading, and infrastructure repair and replacement. Zone 7’s fixed costs to the City are set by Zone 7. 

Variable or consumption-based charges change from bill to bill based on the amount of water used, measured in hundred cubic feet (CCFs). Pleasanton has two variable charges: Zone 7 variable charges related to water supply purchases from Zone 7 and City variable charges related to the City’s water delivery to customers. Typical variable costs include the volume of water purchased, energy expenses to pump and move water through the system, water treatment, operations and maintenance, regulatory compliance such as testing and monitoring, and conservation programs.

On May 6, 2025, the City Council was presented with the results and recommendations from a cost-of-service analysis and rate study recommending two key changes to the City’s existing water rate structure: 

  • Uniform Consumption-Based Variable Rates for All Customers – The City currently uses a tiered rate structure for single-family customers. Tiered consumption-based variable charges, or rates, have historically been a standard rate structure water agencies use to promote water conservation and maintain affordability for lower water users. Over the past three years, several court cases in California have addressed the legality of tiered rate structures, particularly related to their compliance with Proposition 218, which requires that:  
    1. Rates must be proportional to the cost of service. 
    2. Revenue cannot exceed the funds required to provide the service. 
    3. No user should pay more than their proportional share. 
    4. Agencies must demonstrate the cost basis for each tier. 

Based on these requirements and the City’s current operations, WRE recommended that the City move to a uniform rate structure for all customers. Therefore, the City Council approved the recommendation to eliminate tiered rates and adopt a uniform rate structure to achieve greater consistency and reduce legal risk.

  • Full Cost Recovery of Zone 7 Fixed Costs – Currently, the City’s water rate structure directly recoups only 32 percent of Zone 7’s fixed expenses, with the remainder covered by the variable charge based on consumption. However, this creates uncertainty and risk for the City, as water consumption depends on various factors, including annual rainfall, drought conditions, and changes in customer behavior. To ensure greater revenue stability and reduce financial risk, the City Council approved the recommendation to fully recover Zone 7’s fixed costs as a pass-through of the rates established by Zone 7.

The impact of these rate adjustments will vary based on customer type and water usage. In Year 1, the expected effects on bi-monthly water bills for single-family customers are as follows:

  • $0 to $10 bi-monthly increase: 6% of single-family bills 
  • $10 to $20 bi-monthly increase: 7% of single-family bills 
  • $20 to $40 bi-monthly increase: 52% of single-family bills 
  • $40 to $60 bi-monthly increase: 14% of single-family bills 
  • $60 to $80 bi-monthly increase: 7% of single-family bills 
  • Bi-monthly decrease: 14% of single-family bills

Based on this breakdown, most single-family customers will experience an increase of $20 to $40 every other month since the City bills bi-monthly. 

No, Pleasanton’s water system is funded by a separate Water Enterprise Fund that covers all water-related services and infrastructure. The City cannot profit from the rates charged to customers or use these funds for other purposes. Customer rates directly support the costs associated with providing water and recycled water services, including daily operations, maintenance, and repairing and replacing essential infrastructure. 

Delivering safe, reliable water requires extensive infrastructure and ongoing maintenance. Over the years, the cost of providing water service has increased. To keep up, the City and Zone 7 Water Agency regularly review their rates in response to rising costs, new regulations, and evolving system requirements.

From 2011 to 2023, while Zone 7 raised its fixed and variable water rates, the City’s water rates were adjusted only for inflation. During this period, the City also provided all customers the first 20 CCF (hundred cubic feet) of water free of charge.

In November 2022, the City discontinued the use of its groundwater wells due to increasing per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) regulatory requirements and began relying entirely on imported water from Zone 7. This shift significantly increased the cost of water. In 2023, the City approved a two-year emergency rate increase to stabilize funding and support critical infrastructure needs. The new rates, a 30% increase and a 12% increase, took effect in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

The City owns and operates water and recycled water systems that deliver potable and recycled water to its customers and a sewer system that conveys sewage to wastewater treatment plants. 

Zone 7 is a wholesale water agency responsible for securing, treating, and supplying water to retailers like the City of Pleasanton, which then distributes water directly to residents and businesses. 

Pleasanton maintains and operates its local water distribution system, while Zone 7 manages regional treatment facilities, major transmission lines, and regional groundwater basin management.

Zone 7 charges are pass-through costs collected by Pleasanton to cover the purchase and delivery of wholesale water. Zone 7 establishes its fixed and variable rates. The City’s proposed rates include Zone 7’s rates based on the assumption of a 5% increase each year. However, this assumption can change annually based on the rates set by Zone 7.

The City purchases and delivers recycled water to customers in limited parts of its service area. The costs and revenue requirements for the recycled water program are calculated separately from those of the potable water system and paid for by recycled water customers. The proposed rate structure for recycled water includes a fixed charge and a variable charge for both the supply and distribution of recycled water.

A water shortage occurs when there is insufficient water to serve customers. Such a shortage can arise for various reasons, including an earthquake, a power outage, or an extended drought. In these situations, water usage declines, resulting in reduced revenues. Drought rates, or consumption-based surcharges, serve as a tool to effectively respond to water shortage emergencies and recover essential funding necessary for operating and maintaining the water system. Drought rates are implemented in stages for different levels of mandated water usage reduction, as outlined in the City’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan.

Drought rates can only be enacted if the City declares a water shortage emergency and chooses to implement drought rates that correspond to the appropriate stage. These rates are discretionary and are one of several options available to agencies during a water shortage emergency. Other strategies to recover drought-related costs include using reserve funds, implementing a partial drought rate, deferring CIP expenditures, and more.

Based on proposed changes to the City’s rates and rate structure, it must also update its drought rates as part of the water rate setting process. Since the City has decided to proceed with full fixed charge recovery of Zone 7 fixed costs, the new proposed drought rates are lower than the City’s current drought rates, as less variable revenue is at risk during water shortage emergencies. 

Connection fees are one-time capital fees assessed against new developments in the City to recover the proportional share of capital facility investment to be constructed or previously constructed to accommodate new growth.

No. The City is taking a systematic and transparent approach to addressing proposed rate changes by presenting various recommendations to the Council. The Council will officially vote on the proposed rate adjustments during a public hearing in October 2025. All customers will receive a notice at least 45 days before the public hearing. This notice will detail all proposed changes and adjustments to the City’s water rates and fees.

The City’s water system is aging and requires significant repairs and upgrades. Consequently, in recent years, the City has experienced an increase in emergency repairs. These emergency repairs can cost over ten times the amount of capital replacement and upgrades. To ensure a safe and reliable water supply, the City plans to invest $73.5 million in capital improvement projects over the next five years to upgrade and rehabilitate its existing water system. 

In January 2025, Pleasanton completed its first long-term Water System Management Plan, which assessed existing water assets, anticipated capital improvements, and outlined operations and maintenance requirements for the next 20 years. Subsequently, the City conducted a Water Enterprise Financial Analysis outlining multiple funding scenarios to create a financial framework for prioritizing and funding critical water infrastructure projects to address the City’s immediate and future water needs. 

Based on this analysis, the City identified over $73 million in capital upgrades and repairs for the next five years to maintain and enhance its aging infrastructure systems. Key projects planned include: 

  • Emergency Power Improvements
  • Water Meter and AMI System Replacement 
  • West Las Positas Blvd. Multimodal Reconstruction
  • Annual Water Program
  • Regional Well and Pipeline Project
  • Kilkare and Sunol Fire Flow 
  • Annual Pipeline Upgrades for Fire Flow 
  • Grey Eagle Improvements
  • Water Tank 1300 Rehabilitation
  • SCADA Network Architecture 
  • Water Tank Inspections and Repair
  • Foothill Pump Station Rehabilitation
  • Annual Pipeline Capacity Improvements 

This list of projects is proposed and may change over time. The projects identified are based on the city’s highest priorities, which are to ensure the delivery of safe and reliable water to our customers.

No. The City owns and operates water and recycled water systems that provide potable and recycled water to its customers and a sewer system that transports sewage from these customers to wastewater treatment plants. Each of these services is financially managed by a separate enterprise fund. Water and wastewater, or sewer, rates are evaluated and established separately based on the costs of providing each service. The City plans to conduct a comprehensive wastewater rate study next year. 

Yes, the City offers various water conservation services, free devices, and rebate programs to help customers save water and money. Find out more on our Water Conservation webpage. 

Sign up for the City’s special edition, Pleasanton Pipeline E-Newsletter. This newsletter will be issued as necessary to keep customers informed about Pleasanton’s 2025 Water Rate Update. Additionally, you can find regular updates on our website, www.PleasantonWater.com, or by following us on Facebook and Instagram at @PleasantonCA. 

The City’s proposed water rate updates aim to achieve the following goals:

  • Ensure financial stability and resiliency 
  • Establish consistent, equitable, and justifiable rates 
  • Achieve appropriate cost recovery
  • Reduce legal and financial risk through compliant rate design
  • Maintain affordability through appropriate assistance programs
  • Address both short- and long-term infrastructure needs 

Water Rate Update 2025: Proposed Water Rates

Last Updated July 16, 2025

Approval of Water Rate Study & Public Hearing Notice

On July 15, 2025, the City Council took the latest step in the City’s efforts to update its water rates by accepting the 2025 Water Rate Study Report and authorizing Proposition 218 notification for water and sewer rate changes. View the City Council Staff Report, Presentation, Water Rate Study, and Public Hearing Notice. 

The City Council approved recommended changes to its water rate structure during its meeting on May 6, 2025. These changes include implementing uniform consumption-based variable charges for all customers and recovering 100 percent of Zone 7’s fixed costs as pass-through fixed charges. 

As a result of these changes, the latest proposed fixed and variable charges for the City and Zone 7 will be presented to the City Council for review:

These rates are only proposed at this time. The City will present its final water rate study report and a proposed Proposition 218 notice for acceptance and approval at the City Council meeting on July 15, 2025. The proposed water rates will then undergo a 60-day review period before being submitted to the City Council for adoption at a public hearing on October 7, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.

Recommendation: None, Informational Only

Water shortages occur when the availability of the water supply fails to meet expected customer demand. Such a shortage can arise for various reasons, including an earthquake, a power outage, or an extended drought. In these situations, water usage declines, leading to reduced revenues for the City from variable charges. 

Water drought rates, or consumption-based surcharges, serve as tools to effectively respond to water shortage emergencies and recover essential funding necessary to operate and maintain the water system. As outlined in the City’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan, drought rates are implemented in stages for different levels of mandated water usage reduction.

Water drought rates can only be enacted if the City Council declares a water shortage emergency and implements drought rates corresponding to the appropriate stage. They are designed to recover variable revenue loss from reduced usage minus the expected cost savings from decreased variable expenses, such as purchasing less water from Zone 7. These water drought rates represent one of several options available to agencies during a water shortage emergency and are implemented at the discretion of the City. 

The City’s current water drought rate structure provides a usage allotment of 10 CCF for all customers every bi-monthly billing period, which is exempt from charges. Based on updated consumption patterns, staff recommends reducing the drought allotment to 8 CCF per bi-monthly period to ensure the total annual usage allotment remains below the annual usage reduction requirement for each water shortage stage. 

The Water Drought Rates and Connection Fees Technical Memo and presentation shared with the City Council compare these two allotments, the respective water drought rates for each option, and the proposed bill impacts for single-family customers. 

It is important to note that since the City has decided to proceed with 100 percent fixed charge recovery of Zone 7 fixed costs, the proposed water drought rates are lower than the current drought rates, as less variable revenue will now be at risk during water shortage emergencies. 

Recommendation: Staff recommends a water drought rate structure with an 8 CCF allotment. This structure accounts for the difficulty of reducing low-end usage during water shortage emergencies while encouraging the reduction of high-end usage to meet necessary conservation targets.

Drought Rates

Water connection fees are one-time capital charges assessed for new developments to connect to the City’s water system. These fees are used to recover the development’s proportional share of expanding the existing water system to serve the new customers or recoup costs for previously constructed investments to accommodate the new growth and its water needs. Methods for calculating connection fees include:

  • Incremental Cost Method – New water users, or developers, pay for the additional capacity and costs required to expand the existing water system to accommodate their development. This method determines the fee by dividing the total cost of water system expansion projects (as estimated in the Water System Management Plan) by the anticipated total increase in future dwelling unit equivalents (DUE) to determine the connection fee per DUE. This method has historically been used by the City to calculate its water connection fees.
  • Buy-in Method – This method recovers the historical costs of infrastructure investments in proportion to the amount of built capacity, some of which is available for new growth. Under this method, the fee is calculated by dividing the current value of the water system by the current number of DUEs to determine the cost per DUE. 
  • Hybrid Method – This method is typically used when the existing water system has some capacity to serve new growth, but additional expansion is also needed to accommodate the new development. The fee is calculated by determining the buy-in and incremental cost method fees and adding them together. Revenues from the buy-in component are transferred to the water enterprise fund, while revenues from the incremental component are allocated to the CIP expansion fund. 

Recent water conservation trends have reduced the burden on the City’s existing water system from current water customers, creating excess capacity for future growth. However, as identified in the Water System Management Plan, parts of the water system require expansion to accommodate new development, particularly regarding water supply transmission and storage. Therefore, staff recommends using the hybrid method to determine connection fees.

The City is also recommending an annual increase in the water connection fee based on the Consumer Price Index. As the City updates its water system planning in future years, the costs of capacity improvements to support growth and the value of the water system may change. The adequacy of the connection fee will be monitored and adjusted as needed.

Recommendation: Staff recommends calculating the connection fee using the hybrid method. The recommended connection fee is $5,269 per dwelling unit equivalent (DUE) with annual increases based on the Consumer Price Index. 

Connection Fees

The 2025 Water Rate Study includes a comprehensive cost-of-service analysis and proposed changes to the City’s rate structure and rates that align with the Water System Management Plan’s long-term infrastructure needs and the funding priorities outlined in the City’s Financial Analysis and Plan.

Key changes include achieving full cost recovery of Zone 7 fixed costs as a pass-through rate and switching to a uniform consumption-based variable rate for all customers. Based on the proposed rates, 52 percent of bi-monthly, single-family water bills are expected to increase by $20 to $40 in the first year.

The proposed water and recycled water rates, drought rates, and water connection fees over the next four years are shown in the City’s public hearing notice.

Under Proposition 218, the City is required to notify all property owners or customers of record of proposed water rate changes and hold a public hearing to adopt the rates. The City must mail public hearing notices to all customers at least 45 days before the public hearing.

A draft public hearing notice was presented and approved at the City Council meeting. All notices will be printed and mailed by July 30. The public hearing notice clearly shows all proposed rate changes, provides information on the public hearing date/time/location, and provides instructions on how customers may protest the proposed rate changes.

Previous Update on April 29, 2025

Water Rate Structure Changes & Preliminary Rates

On May 6, 2025, the City Council reviewed the initial results of Pleasanton’s cost-of-service analysis and rate study, along with preliminary recommendations for updating the City’s water rate structure. The following changes to the City’s rate structure and rates were considered:

The City currently uses a tiered rate structure for single-family customers. Tiered consumption-based variable charges, or rates, have historically been a standard rate structure used by water agencies to promote water conservation and maintain affordability for lower water users. Over the past three years, several court cases in California have addressed the legality, primarily focusing on their compliance with Proposition 218 requirements that:  

  • Rates must be proportional to the cost of service 
  • Revenue cannot exceed the funds required to provide the service 
  • No user should pay more than their proportional share 
  • Agencies must demonstrate the cost basis for each tier

Recommendation: Adopt a uniform rate structure for all customers to achieve greater consistency and reduce legal risk. 

Consumption-based variable charges represent the portion of a water bill that changes based on a customer’s water usage. Pleasanton has two variable charges: Zone 7 variable charges (related to City water supply purchases from Zone 7) and City variable charges (related to City’s delivery of water to customers). Common variable costs include the volume of water purchased, energy costs for water pumping, and water treatment.

Fixed charges represent the portion of the water bill that is charged to customers regardless of their water consumption. Fixed charges are consistent and depend on meter size. Pleasanton has two fixed charges: City and Zone 7. City fixed costs include meter maintenance, meter reading, and repair and replacement. Zone 7’s fixed costs to the City are determined by Zone 7. Common fixed costs include system maintenance, staffing, regulatory compliance, and infrastructure upgrades.

The City’s current rate structure charges customers only 32% of Zone 7’s fixed costs, with the remaining expenses covered through the variable rate. However, this creates uncertainty and financial risk for the City, as water consumption depends on various factors, including annual rainfall, drought conditions, and changes in customer behavior.

The City Council will be presented with options illustrating potential rates for 75% and 100% Zone 7 Fixed cost recovery. Before the 2024 emergency rate increase, the City had only charged a variable Zone 7 rate. Starting in 2024, the City began to collect a fixed charge to reduce its financial risk and began stabilizing its cost recovery.

Recommendation: Proceed with the 100% Zone 7 fixed cost recovery to establish revenue stability and reduce risk. 

The City currently offers a 20 percent discount on water and sewer rates for single-family residents who qualify as a “senior” (age 65 or older) and a 30 percent discount for residents who qualify as a low-income family (those who qualify for PG&E, PacBell, or cable television discounts through either the California Department of Economic Opportunity or the Social Security Administration). Residents cannot apply for both discounts. The City also currently limits both programs to a discount only if the water customer’s bi-monthly water consumption is less than or equal to 30 CCF maximum usage. These discount programs are funded through the City’s General Fund and are not, and are not permitted to be, funded by rates. The senior discount program currently has approximately 3,200 enrolled customers and costs the General Fund approximately $300,000 per year. The low-income program currently has approximately 225 enrolled customers and costs the General Fund approximately $36,000 per year. 

Recommendation: Maintain the low-income discount program with maximum bi-monthly water consumption of less than 30 CCF. However, staff recommends discontinuing the senior discount program as seniors can still qualify as a low-income family if they show proof of participation in existing State or Federal Programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medi-Cal, CalFresh, PG&E CARE or FERA Program, or low-income property tax exemptions through the County Assessor’s Office. These are third-party verified programs that require minimal resources from the City. 

The City Council approved the recommended rate structure at the May 6, 2025 meeting, which included uniform consumption-based variable charges for all customer classes (as opposed to a tiered rates structure) and Zone 7 fixed costs being 100 percent recovered as pass-through fixed charges to customers (as opposed to a portion of Zone 7 fixed costs recovered as variable charges). While the City Council did discuss potential changes to the City’s existing discount programs, no changes were made at this time, and this item was postponed for future discussion. Read more. 

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Next Steps: Proposed Timeline & Activities

Date Milestone
May 6, 2025City Council Meeting: Review of Cost-of-Service Analysis and Recommended Rates and Rate Structure Agenda Report
June 3, 2025City Council Meeting: Final Water Rates, Connection Fees, Drought Rates Agenda Report
July 15, 2025City Council Meeting: Approve Prop 218 Notice, Accept Rate Study Report Agenda Report
July 30, 2025Last Day to Mail Out Public Hearing Notices – 45 Day Comment Period
October 7, 2025City Council Public Hearing and Potential Adoption
January 1, 2026New Rates Take Effect

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Additional Rate Information

Links to 2023 Rate Change Materials currently available on water rate page

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FAQs

No, the City’s top priority has been and always will be to ensure drinking water public health and safety standards are met for all Pleasanton residents and businesses. The City is prepared to meet all water demands, drought or no drought. Wise use of water by the City and our consumers is an important part of our water supply plan, and conservation is a key part of being good water stewards.
Historically, demands immediately following a drought have never gone back to pre-drought levels, so chances of this are close to zero. Instead, users gradually fall back into old habits and water use grows over several years – not months – even during the hotter weeks of the summer following a drought. More recently, acceptance of climate change has resulted in reduced water demand. We know that conservation is now a way of life in Pleasanton and throughout California, and we’ll all do our part to responsibly use our water. Our new water reality is one of the primary drivers behind our decision to use wells only as a last resort.

P.O. Box 520
Pleasanton, CA 94566

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