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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

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Rates, Fees and Fines for Environmental Services & Utilities

Annual Sanitary Sewer Service and Use ChargesPrintable Version

Overview

The Sewer Service and Use Charge rate structure charges users of the sanitary sewerage system in San José on the benefit received principle, in conformance with State Water Resources Control Board “Revenue Program Guidelines for Wastewater Agencies,” as adopted in April 1983. Rates are computed to recover projected costs for San José’s share of the following:

  • San José/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant Operations, Maintenance, and Other Costs
  • Treatment Plant Equipment Replacement and Modification
  • Debt Service on Revenue Bonds for San José/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant Capital Improvements
  • Management, Operation, Maintenance, and Rehabilitation of the San José Sanitary Sewer system
  • Administrative Services

Sewer Service and Use Charge rates are reviewed and adjusted annually, as cost and service demand levels change, in conformance with State Water Resources Control Board Revenue Program Guidelines. The current rate structure for sanitary sewerage services described below became effective July 1, 2009, with San José City Council adoption of Resolution 74976 dated June 16, 2009. The rates are structured for the estimated cost recovery requirements and the service demand levels of Fiscal Year 2009-10.

Questions regarding rates for sanitary sewerage service may be addressed to:

City of San José
Revenue Management – Sewer Billing Unit
200 East Santa Clara Street, 4th Floor
San José, CA 95113
(408) 535-7055

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Residential Rates

Residential Sewer Service and Use Charge rates for Fiscal Year 2009-10 are as follows:

  Per Month1 Per Year
Single-Family Residence $31.00 $372.00
Multiple-Family Residence (per unit) $17.73 $212.76
Mobile Home $17.77 $213.24
1Monthly charge is used for prorating a partial year charge.

Residential service charges are placed on the property tax roll and collected by the Santa Clara County Tax Collector’s Office.

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Commercial, Institutional, and Light Industrial Rates

Commercial, institutional, and light industrial classes of rates include non-residential users discharging sewage of uniform strength or discharging less than 25,000 gallons per day. The Sewer Service and Use Charge rate structure for commercial, institutional, and light industrial classes is based on adjusted water consumption data reflecting the difference in sewage strength among 63 standard classifications of users. Annual water consumption for each user is estimated by averaging water consumption for the months of January, February, and March of the previous fiscal year and annualizing that data to estimate sewage flow for the following year. The winter months are selected to minimize the effects of landscaping and garden irrigation. An annual charge is computed for non-residential users using the following unit rates and placed on the property tax rolls for collection by the Santa Clara County Tax Collector’s Office.

Commercial, institutional, and light industrial Sewer Service and Use Charge rates for Fiscal Year 2009-10 are as follows:

Use Charge per Hundred Cubic Feet of Sewage Discharged Use Charge per Hundred Cubic Feet of Sewage Discharged
Meat Packers $3.67 Business Parks $2.99
Dairy Product Processors $5.02 Building Construction/Field Office $2.99
Wholesale Bakeries $4.48 Parking Lots $2.75
Soft Drink Bottlers $4.44 Gas Service Stations $3.03
Wineries $7.85 Auto Showrooms/Body Shops/Detail/Trucking $3.27
Paper Pulp Mills $5.70 Manufacturing Paint Products $2.99
Plating Works $2.59 Concrete Companies $2.99
Electrical Equipment Manufactures $2.95 Paper Recovery $2.99
Machinery Manufacturers $3.84 General Manufacturing Industries $2.99
Film Service Laboratories $2.87 Chemical Manufacturing $2.99
Soft Water Services $2.62 Ice Plants $2.99
Car Washes $2.79 Pubs $3.17
Automotive Steam Cleaners $5.20 Amusement Parks $3.15
Printing Plants $3.69 Athletic/Fitness Clubs $2.89
Restaurants-Delis $5.09 Cemeteries $2.89
Hotel-Motels $3.06 Country Clubs (Golf) $3.05
Hospitals and Convalescent Homes $2.96 Lounges, Clubs, Billiards $3.05
Public Schools, Colleges and Universities $3.48 Convenience Stores $2.89
Private Schools, Colleges and Universities $3.48 Boarding/Rooming $3.10
Repair Shops & Service Stations $3.11 Cleaners (Commercial Laundries) $3.64
Domestic Laundries $2.76 Plazas and Malls $3.28
Business Offices/Condos $2.92 Nurseries (Growers) $3.46
Government Agencies $2.92 Laboratories (Commercial and Industrial) $3.48
Medical Centers/Clinics $2.98 Cafés & Ice-creams $5.41
Beauty Salons $3.07 Donuts & Bakeries $5.41
Commercial and Department Stores $3.07 Supermarket Groceries $4.96
Storage/Warehouse $2.89 Mortuaries (Embalming) $4.96
Health Care $2.97 Catering $5.14
Theatres $3.05 Misc. Commercial, Institutional, Industrial $2.92
Association/Communities Services $2.92    

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Monitored Industrial Rates

Non-residential users discharging more that 25,000 gallons2 of sewage per day or discharging sewage of widely varying strength are billed monthly on the basis of samples collected during the billing month. Monthly sewage flow is derived from actual sewage flow meter data or estimated from potable water consumption.

Monitored industrial Sewer Service and Use Charge unit rates for Fiscal Year 20098-10 are as follows:

Capital Cost Recovery
Annual charge per million gallons per day of FLOW capacity required, plus $249,616
Annual charge per thousand pounds per day of BOD removal capacity required, plus $24,289
Annual charge per thousand pounds per day of SS removal capacity required, plus $16,526
Annual charge per thousand pounds per day of NH3 removal capacity required. $67,204
Operations & Maintenance Cost Recovery 
Charge per HCF of sewage discharged to the sanitary sewer,
plus
$1.775
($2,373/MG)
Charge per pound of BOD discharged to the sanitary sewer,
plus
$0.187
($187/Klbs)
Charge per pound of SS discharged to the sanitary sewer,
plus
$0.212
($212/Klbs)
Charge per pound of NH3 discharged to the sanitary sewer. $1.635
($1,635/Klbs)

2 Conforms to State Water Resources Control Board definition of “Substantial User.”

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Last Modified Date: 8/25/2009

 
 

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