URGENT ACTION NEEDED: End San Jose Water Company’s Surcharge
Dear Neighbors,
San Jose Water Company's excessive greed in raising water rates and imposing a surcharge has caused significant pain for many residents. I strongly encourage you to take a moment to send an email requesting the Valley Water Board to terminate the drought mandate, thereby ending San Jose Water's surcharge as explained below. After this season’s heavy rains, this action is long overdue. Let's work together to ensure that our community's well-being is prioritized over corporate profits.
Please feel free to use the following message as a template, and make any necessary edits to express your own thoughts and concerns.
Together, let's put an end to the San Jose Water Company's surcharge.
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In friendship,
🇺🇸Rishi Kumar 🇺🇸
Candidate for United States Congress, Silicon Valley’s CD16
Donate to my ethics in politics run here
—— Copy the message below, edit If needed, and send -----
To: Board@valleywater.org, Rishi@RishiKumar.com, regulatoryaffairs@sjwater.com,
Subject: Agenda item 2.8, March 14 meeting: It’s time to remove the drought mandate
Dear Valley Water Board,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding agenda item 2.8 on your upcoming March 14th meeting, which pertains to the Monthly Drought Emergency Response and Water Supply Update (File #: 23-0114).
Given the recent record-breaking rainfall and above-average snowpack in the Sierras, I respectfully request that you remove the drought mandate and urge the San Jose Water Company to eliminate the drought surcharge through a CPUC filing.
According to reports, this has been the 13th wettest January in the past 129 years in our county, and our reservoirs in Northern California have benefited greatly from this precipitation. Furthermore, NBC news’ Damian Trujillo has reported that Valley Water has been strategically releasing water from reservoirs in preparation for future storms, which is why the county's reservoir capacity currently stands at only 50%.
While we all will continue to conserve water this summer, I request that the June 9, 2021 15% reduction in water usage be changed from “mandatory” to “recommended.”
As residents we fully support water conservation efforts. However, the current mandate has unfortunately allowed San Jose Water Company to impose a surcharge that directly feeds into their profits. The result is a spike in our water bills that is not sustainable and puts a strain on our finances.
San Jose Water Company's relentless rate increases and the surcharge resulting from the drought mandate have significantly increased their profits despite our successful efforts in water conservation. San Jose Water Company's annual income in 2020 was $60.4 million, and it increased to $61 million in 2021, a staggering increase from the $20 million baseline between 2010-2013.
As a resident of Santa Clara County, I urge you to prioritize the well-being of the community and remove the mandate to address this issue.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME & CITY OF RESIDENCE