A new set of rate increases for water in Mountain View are expected to be codified in the coming months before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.
Yearly rate increases by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) – which provides the large majority of water to the city of Mountain View – were approved on June 25, 2024. Gradual rate increases were approved over the next five years to provide adequate funding for operational and maintenance expenses, and capital improvements such as the rehabilitation and replacement of aging infrastructure.
On April 14, a five-member commission with the SFPUC will consider the amount of the rate hike to wholesale customers at the start of the fiscal year.
Lenka Wright, chief communications officer for the city of Mountain View, said the city would consider the actual rate of increase to customers during budgetary discussions near the end of the fiscal year in June.
“Utility rates are most commonly adopted in conjunction with the annual budget, unless a broader fee study necessitates a separate council action,” Wright said.
An 8.1% increase to Mountain View customers was codified for the 2024-2025 fiscal year – about a $6 increase for a $79 water bill. The water rates for future years are at a base annual rate of 2.5% through 2028-2029, according to a staff report.
The SFPUC notified the city of a proposed 8.8% increase in wholesale water rates and a 14.1% increase in meter rates effective July 1, 2024. These rates were adopted at SFPUC’s public hearing on May 14, 2024.
The SFPUC, via the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System originating at its namesake reservoir in Yosemite National Park, delivers water to approximately 2.7 million Bay Area customers. The work is funded by customer rates, not by taxes, for the not-for-profit public utility. The cost is equated for the operating, maintaining and upgrading of the water and sewer systems, said Alison Kastama, a communications manager with the SFPUC.
Mountain View purchases approximately 84% of its water from the SFPUC. The city – one of 26 total – is party to a water supply agreement between the city and county of San Francisco and wholesale customers in Alameda County, San Mateo County and Santa Clara County. Of the 26 wholesale customers, 21 rely on the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System for more than 60% of their drinking water supply.
“They do very well at water conservation and programs to promote smart water use,” Kastama said of Mountain View. “They are a great partner in this.”
As of 2023-2024, Mountain View had 18,062 accounts and a service population of 81,501. By comparison, Palo Alto had 20,387 accounts and a service population of 67,901; Sunnyvale had 29,413 accounts and a service population of 157,566.
The city purchases about 6.72 million gallons from the SFPUC, while the city and county of San Francisco purchase about 53.1 million gallons. Mountain View’s system distributes water via 190 miles of main piping. The city has four water storage facilities and active wells (at the time of the survey, three were out of service).
Wright said the city’s historical practice sets annual rate adjustments to account for wholesale water rate increases from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Santa Clara Valley Water District and inflation. This includes passing the wholesale water rate increases by SFPUC directly through to the city’s retail customers. The final calculation of actual rates goes to the City Council every year as part of the annual fee updates, which is typically considered during the annual budget adoption process during the second council meeting in June. If a comprehensive fee study is conducted, the proposed rates may instead be presented as part of a separate agenda item titled “Modifications to the city of Mountain View Master Fee Schedule.” For the 2025-2026 fiscal year, this was presented on June 10, 2025.
Approximately 16,800 notices containing the required information were mailed to Mountain View utility customers in compliance with state law. The city received two protest letters. A majority protest requires 50% + 1 of those eligible to submit a protest or 8,398 protests, to disallow the city from imposing the rate increases.
“Mountain View’s utilities are financially self-supporting enterprises that rely primarily on funds from service charges to fund the costs of providing services,” according to the 2024 staff report.
