Sewer Service Charge Calculation

Los Altos Municipal Code Chapter 10.12 authorizes the City to impose sewer service charges to fund costs associated with the City's sanitary sewer system. On July 9, 2013 the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2013-394 which establishes the initial pre-parcel sewer service charge comprised of a fixed charge per dwelling unit plus a quantity charge per estimated sewer unit.

The quantity charge is based on water consumption data provided by the California Water Company for the previous year. The overall three lowest months for water use in the City were selected as the wettest months in the year, that they represent a reasonable approximation of the amount of sewer used. Water usage is averaged and multiplied by 12 to calculate the total estimated annual sewer usage.

Sewer Rates for FY 2023/24 through FY 2027/28

On February 28, 2023, Staff and NBS presented information to City Council regarding the Proposition 218 process and the Sewer Rate Study Report. Below are the staff report, attachments, and Q&A under the Supporting Documents section.

A Public Hearing was scheduled for June 13, 2023, where the balloting process took place. Since the balloting did not result in a majority protest vote of 50% +1, the Los Altos City Council adopted an ordinance for the rates to go into effect on July 1, 2023. A Notice of Public Hearing was sent out at least 45 days before the Public Hearing.

The quantity charge is based on water consumption data provided by the California Water Company for the previous year. The overall three lowest consecutive months for water use in the City were selected as the wettest months in the year and represent a reasonable approximation of the amount of sewer used, where irrigation is lowest. Winter water usage is averaged and multiplied by 12 to calculate the total estimated annual sewer usage.

For FY 2024/25, the annual per-parcel sewer service charge is $391.56 per dwelling unit, plus a quantity charge of $3.80 per estimated sewer unit (1 estimated sewer unit is calculated as 748 gallons of winter season metered water use). The Ordinance establishing the sewer service charge for FY2024/25 was adopted by City Council on June 11, 2024.

Please feel free to contact the Public Works Department with any questions at (650) 947-2780, or email at engineering@losaltosca.gov.