Water Rates and Charges

San Diego Municipal Code ch. 6, art. 7, div. 5

in effect

San Diego Municipal Code § 67.0501 Water Rates — Collection

§67.0501 Water Rates — Collection The water rates established by this Code shall be charged and collected by The City of San Diego for water and water service supplied WITHIN and WITHOUT The City of San Diego. The water charge begins when a service connection is installed and the meter is set, unless the water is ordered in writing to be left off when the service connection is ordered to be installed, in which case the Department will install and seal the meter. (Renumbered from Sec. 67.54 on 7-31-2000 by O-18828 N.S.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 67.0502 Water Rates — General Water Service Within the City of San Diego

§67.0502 Water Rates — General Water Service Within the City of San Diego The rates to be charged and collected for water supplied in any one month for Domestic, Commercial and Industrial use within the City, and for all purposes for which no other rate for water supplied for use within the City is provided in this Article shall be established from time to time by a resolution of the City Council; provided, however, that prior to considering any change in said water service charge by resolution as aforesaid, a notice of the proposed change shall be posted by the City Clerk at least ten (10) days prior to consideration of such a resolution by the City Council. (Renumbered from Sec. 67.55 on 7-31-2000 by O-18828 N.S.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 67.0503 Water Rates — General Water Service Outside the City of San Diego

§67.0503 Water Rates — General Water Service Outside the City of San Diego The rates to be charged and collected for water supplies in any one month for Domestic, Commercial and Industrial use outside the City, and for all purposes for which no other rate for water supplies for use outside the City is provided in this Article, shall be the amount computed at the rates set forth in Section 67.0502 of this Code as adjusted by Section 67.0508 of this Code multiplied by 2.00; provided, however, that the rates to be charged and collected for water supplies for Agricultural use outside the City shall be computed at the rates set forth in Section 67.0502 as adjusted by Section 67.0508. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to change or modify any existing legal contracts or obligations between the City of San Diego and any person, firm or corporation as to the rate or rates for water or the obligations in connection therewith. (Renumbered from Sec. 67.56 and amended 7-31-2000 by O-18828 N.S.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 67.0505 Water Rates — Interruptible Agricultural Service Within the City of San Diego

§67.0505 Water Rates — Interruptible Agricultural Service Within the City of San Diego For the purpose of this section “agricultural service” shall be defined as untreated water delivered through a single meter for use upon tracts or parcels of land within the City of San Diego utilized exclusively for agricultural purposes as defined in the first paragraph of Section 67.0209. Connections to the source of untreated water shall be made by the City. The applicant shall pay connection charges based upon the estimate of costs made by the Water Department. Water received by the user under the provisions of this section shall not be used for domestic, commercial or industrial purposes. When the availability of water requires restriction of the use of water or when water from the untreated sources available for agricultural service is being utilized to the fullest extent for delivery to other service or other points, delivery for agricultural service shall be curtailed until such water is again available. Water furnished under the provisions of this section shall be received by the user at a point or points of delivery designated by the Water Department. The rate to be charged and collected for water supplied for interruptible agricultural service shall be $10.00 per acre foot plus the rate per acre foot paid by the City to the San Diego County Water Authority at the time such service is rendered by the City. (Renumbered from Sec. 67.57.1 and amended 7-31-2000 by O-18828 N.S.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 67.0506 Water Rates — Fire Hydrant Service Within the City of San Diego

§67.0506 Water Rates — Fire Hydrant Service Within the City of San Diego The rates to be charged and collected for Fire Hydrant service within the City (which shall include maintenance of the hydrant in accordance with Section 55.1 of the Municipal Code, and water used for fire extinguishing purposes) shall be established from time to time by a resolution of the City Council; provided, however, that prior to considering any change in said water service charge by resolution as aforesaid, a notice of the proposed change shall be posted by the City Clerk at least ten (10) days prior to consideration of such a resolution by the City Council. (Renumbered from Sec. 67.58 on 7-31-2000 by O-18828 N.S.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 67.0507 Water Rates — Fire Service and Automatic Fire Sprinkler Service Within the City of San Diego

§67.0507 Water Rates — Fire Service and Automatic Fire Sprinkler Service Within the City of San Diego The rates to be so charged and collected for any one month for Fire Service and Automatic Fire Sprinkler Service WITHIN the City of San Diego shall be established from time to time by a resolution of the City Council; provided, however, that prior to considering any change in said water service charge by resolution as aforesaid, a notice of the proposed change shall be posted by the City Clerk at least ten (10) days prior to consideration of such a resolution by the City Council. No water shall be used otherwise than for fire extinguishing purposes from Fire Services or Automatic Fire Sprinkler Services. Upon evidence of violation of this provision, the Water Utilities Department shall install a meter of appropriate size and design at the Consumer’s expense, if service is not already metered, and all water so used shall be charged and collected for at twice the rate for General Water Service WITHIN the City specified in this Article. (Renumbered from Sec. 67.59 on 7-31-2000 by O-18828 N.S.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 67.0508 Water Rates — Adjustments

§67.0508 Water Rates — Adjustments The water rates established in this Article shall be adjusted as necessary by the City Manager to compensate proportionately for any increase in the cost of water and energy purchased by the City. Notice of such increase in water rates shall be given by the City Manager to the City Council by report and to the public by publication once in the City Official Newspaper on or before the thirtieth (30th) day prior to the effective date of such increase. (Renumbered from Sec. 67.59.1 on 7-31-2000 by O-18828 N.S.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 67.0509 Water Rates — Construction Water Service

§67.0509 Water Rates — Construction Water Service The rates to be so charged and collected for Construction Water Service WITHIN the City shall be as follows: For those Construction Meters obtained through the City, the Contractor will pay the same rates as those set forth in this Article for Domestic, Commercial and Industrial Service. For those Construction Meters purchased, owned, and maintained by the Contractors, there will be no Monthly Customer charge. The Commodity charge will be the prevailing charge for water used. (Renumbered from Sec. 67.60 on 7-31-2000 by O-18828 N.S.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 67.0510 Water Rates — Service to City of San Diego

§67.0510 Water Rates — Service to City of San Diego The rates for water and water service supplied to the various Departments of The City of San Diego shall be the same as those rates in effect for all other Consumers WITHIN the City, as in this Article specified, and the water and water service so furnished shall be charged to their respective budget accounts and paid for annually from such funds into the fund provided by charter for the receipts from sale of water. (Renumbered from Sec. 67.61 on 7-31-2000 by O-18828 N.S.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 67.0511 Water Rates — Service to The United States Government

§67.0511 Water Rates — Service to The United States Government The rates to be charged and collected for water and water service supplied to the United States Government or any of its Departments or Agencies WITHIN the City of San Diego, shall be the same as those rates in effect for all Consumers WITHIN the City, as specified in this Article. (Renumbered from Sec. 67.62 on 7-31-2000 by O-18828 N.S.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 67.0512 Water Rate — Service to the United States Navy — Coronado

§67.0512 Water Rate — Service to the United States Navy — Coronado Due to the extensive services which the Navy provides at below specified facilities thus relieving the City from providing such services, the rate to be charged and collected for water and water service supplied to the United States Navy at North Island Naval Air Station and/or the Navy Amphibious Base in Coronado shall be the prevailing Commodity charge for water used. (Renumbered from Sec. 67.63 on 7-31-2000 by O-18828 N.S.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 67.0513 Water Capacity Charge

§67.0513 Water Capacity Charge A minimum capacity charge shall be established from time to time by a resolution of the City Council; provided, however, that prior to considering any change in said capacity charge by resolution as aforesaid, a notice of the proposed change shall be posted by the City Clerk at least ten (10) days prior to consideration of such a resolution by the City Council. Said charge shall be paid when any person, firm, corporation or other entity shall request a new water connection or in any way cause an increase in the water usage by the addition of any type of dwelling, commercial or industrial unit based upon an increase in the water consumption as measured by equivalent family unit or units or portion thereof. Said measurement shall be made by the City Manager or his authorized representative and for the purposes of this section an equivalent family unit shall equal a consumption of 500 gallons of water per day. The water capacity charge shall be due and payable at the time the building permit fees or connection fees are paid, or if a building permit is not required, at the time the water connection fees must be paid, unless otherwise provided by a resolution of the City Council. In any case, this water capacity charge must be paid before the water use (flow) increase is accomplished, unless otherwise provided for by a resolution of the City Council. Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, no minimum capacity charge shall be required with respect to a request for the addition of any equivalent family unit or units when a building permit application for such addition was filed with the City prior to March 19, 1974. Upon approval by the City Manager the capacity charge may be waived or delayed for a specific period of time for the purposes of temporary irrigation or preliminary development. The City may, if approved by resolution of the City Council, purchase unused water capacity from willing property owners and sell that capacity to other property owners provided that: (a) the City has no obligation to purchase unused capacity; (b) property owners have no obligation to sell unused capacity to the City; (c) property owners are prohibited from selling or transferring unused capacity to other property owners; (d) the City does not sell unused capacity for less than the amount the City paid to purchase the unused capacity; and (e) the purchase and sale of unused capacity does not adversely affect the operation or maintenance of the water system. (Renumbered from Sec. 67.72 on 7-31-2000 by O-18828 N.S.) (Retitled from “Capacity Charge” to “Water Capacity Charge” and amended 11-20-2019 by O-21155 N.S.; effective 12-20-2019.)

Source: City of San Diego Office of the City Clerk, San Diego Municipal Code and City Charter (docs.sandiego.gov PDFs)URL: https://docs.sandiego.gov/municode/MuniCodeChapter06/Ch06Art07Division05.pdf#page=1Fetched: 10/28/2026