Water Rate News 2023

Si necesita traducir esta página de internet, presione en el botónGoogle Translate Buttonque se encuentra abajo en la esquina a la derecha y escoga su idioma preferido.       

Water Cost of Service Rate Study

The City of Napa proposed a rate increase to water service charges for all customer classes, as detailed in Proposed Rate Sheets (PDF). The 2023 Water Cost of Service Rate Study (PDF) demonstrated the need to adjust rates for all customer classes to ensure stability of the water system. The structure of the rates will remain the same as they have been since 2017.  The Water RateShare discount for eligible low-income customers would be maintained at $25 per bimonthly bill.Cost of Service Study-Cover Opens in new window


Prop 218 Notice

English HeaderIn accordance with Prop 218, water customers and property owners were mailed a Special Notice of Public Hearing (PDF) regarding the proposed rate changes on September 22, 2023, beginning a 45-day comment period in advance of the Public Hearing of adoption held at City Hall, 955 School Street, on November 7, 2023. A protest form with submittal instructions was included with that notice. 

If adopted, the new rates would become effective with each customer's first billing period that begins January 1, 2024 or later. The first bills reflecting the new rates would not be received by customers until March 2024. Scheduled annual increases then occur October 1 each year through 2027.

Customer Resources

To learn more about the impact of and justification for the new rates, water customers were invited to:

  1. Why do water rates need to be raised?
  2. What would happen if we didn't raise the rates?
  3. Why is a service charge included on my bill?
  4. Why don't multi-family, commercial, and irrigation customers have tiered rates like single-family residential?
  5. Why does the City bill for water every two months instead of monthly like most of my other bills?
  6. Why is $8 million needed per year for Capital Improvements?
  7. Why doesn't new development pay for capital improvements?
  8. What are the major costs to operate the water system?
  9. Does a water customer in Napa pay more or less than similar customers in neighboring communities?
View All FAQs

Previous Rates 2017-2023

The Water rate schedule included five years of fixed rate increases, but was followed by no increase from late 2022 through 2023. During those last two years the rates did not recover the actual cost to provide water service, and the rates needed to be adjusted to reflect water system costs that have continued to rise including the recent inflationary period.