Sonoma County Water
Agency Proposed Fiscal Year
2026/27 Water Transmission
Budget and Rate Increase
City Council Meeting
March 24, 2026
Nick Harvey, Deputy Director Administration
1 Clean. Reliable. Essential. Every day.
sonomawater.org
FY 2026-2027
Proposed Budget and Rates
Water Transmission System
Jake Spaulding
FINANCIAL SERVICES
DIVISION MANAGER
[email protected]
2 3
Tanks: 18 steel water storage tanks placed throughout the transmission system store about 129 million gallons.
Pipelines: Sonoma Water maintains over 88 miles of underground pipeline extending from the Russian River to the cities and water districts in our service area. The pipes range in size from 16 to 54 inches in diameter.
Collectors & wells: Sonoma Water has six collector wells adjacent to the Russian River. In addition, three wells in the Santa Rosa Plain are capable of providing about 4-6 million gallons per day.
Booster stations: Seven booster stations are located in the water transmission system with pumps to maintain water flow and adequate pressure within the aqueducts.
Transparent and collaborative process to bring
rates to Board of Directors by end of April
Sonoma
Water Board
of Directors
(April)
Water
Advisory
Committee
(April)
Water
Contractor
Boards &
Councils
(March)
Technical
Advisory
Committee
(Jan-March)
sonomawater.org
5 Budget includes multiple water transmission
system activities and funds
• Operations and Maintenance
• Four Subfunds
• Five Capital Funds
• Debt Service Funds
sonomawater.org
6 Challenges
• Aging Infrastructure
• Rising operating and
maintenance costs
• Water Usage
Fluctuations/Volumetric
Rate
sonomawater.org
7 Highlights of Sonoma Water and Water Contractor
Achievements and Collaborations
• Santa Rosa Plain Wells
• Regional Water Supply Resiliency
• Hazard Mitigation Projects
• Sonoma-Marin Saving Water
Partnership – Drought Resiliency
• Water Education Program
• Dry Creek Habitat Enhancement
• 2025 Biological Opinion
Highlights of Programs Funded from Other Sources
• Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations
• Advanced Quantitative Precipitation Information Systems • Quagga and Zebra Mussels
Proposed FY26-27 Rates
8 Santa Rosa Aqueduct Petaluma Aqueduct Sonoma Aqueduct
8.21%
$1,515.87 per acre-foot
8.97%
$1,542.42 per acre-foot
8.72%
$1,706.23 per acre-foot
Cities of Santa Rosa,
Town of Windsor
Cities of: Petaluma,
Rohnert Park, Cotati
Cities of Sonoma,
Valley of the Moon
Water District
Cost per gallon:
$.005
Cost per gallon:
$.005
Cost per gallon:
$.005
SR WATER CUSTOMER
IMPACTS
9 10
Bennett Valley Fault Crossing
River Diversion Structure (RDS) Upgrade Project
Seismic Retrofit of Storage Tanks
Wilfred Booster Station
$3.55 million budgeted for hazard mitigation
projects to reduce risks
11 $7.36 million budgeted for other capital projects
to increase resiliency
Kawana-Ralphine SBS Pipeline
Wohler Road Storage Building
Water Treatment System Modernization Phase 1
Water Treatment System Modernization Phase 3
Total FY26-27 Capital Budget including
Hazard Mitigation Projects: $10.90M
12 $48.75 million budgeted for operations and maintenance to protect, improve and maintain system reliability
Projects
Asset Management Plan
Emergency Inventory Procurement
Regional Water Supply Resiliency Implementation
SCADA Improvements
Tank Maintenance Program
Tank Rehabilitation Program
Studies
DeMuth Property Hydrogeologic Investigation
Natural Hazard Reliability Study
Transmission System Master Plan, Modeling & Condition Assessments Programs
Watershed Water Quality Study
13 $10.09 million for Biological Opinion, Water
Supply Planning and Water Conservation
Expenditures compared to FY 25-26
14 FY25-26 FY26-27
Budget
(in Millions)
Budget
(in Millions)
Change
(in Millions)
Operations and Maintenance $45.87 $48.75 $2.88
Capital Projects $18.28 $10.90 ($7.38)
BO Compliance, Water Supply
Planning, Water Conservation $8.80 $10.09 $1.29
Debt Service $9.07 $8.67 ($0.41)
Totals $82.02 $78.41 ($3.62)
Grants, Use of Fund Balance,
and Bond Proceeds $21.22 $14.64 ($6.58)
15 Operations and
Maintenance,
$48.75M
62%
Capital Projects
$10.90
14%
BO Compliance, Water
Supply Planning,
Water Conservation,
$10.09M
13%
Debt Service
$8.67M
11%
FY 26-27 Budgeted Expenditures Grants, Bond Proceeds,
and Use of Fund Balance
$14.64 Million
Example of how rates are
calculated
Cost of Operations
and Maintenance
Water Sold =
Cost of Water
(Dollars per acre-foot)
Water Sold: Restructured Agreement requires use of the Lesser of:
Average of last 3
years annual
water deliveries
Last 12 months
of actual water
deliveries
or
42,384 AF
41,776 AF
$63,332,000 $1,516/ Acre
Foot
41,776 AF
16 sonomawater.org
Proposed Rates for FY 26-27
17 Charge / Aqueduct Santa Rosa Petaluma Sonoma
Deliveries (Acre-Feet) 41,776
O&M $1,106.05 $1,106.05 $1,106.05
Water Management Planning $2.63 $2.63 $2.63
Watershed Planning & Restoration $95.41 $95.41 $95.41
Recycled Water and Local Supply $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Water Conservation $72.13 $72.13 $72.13
Total O&M $1,276.22 $1,276.22 $1,276.22
Storage & Common Bond/Loan Charges $228.65 $228.65 $228.65 Petaluma Aqueduct Bond/Loan Charge $27.55
Sonoma Aqueduct Bond/Loan Charge $166.46
Prime Contractors $1,504.87 $1,532.42 $1,671.33
Discretionary Charges
Capital Charges - to build fund balance for
future projects $11.00 $10.00 $34.90
Prime Contractors $11.00 $10.00 $34.90
Total Prime Contractors $1,515.87 $1,542.42 $1,706.23
Total Overall Increase: 8.21% 8.97% 8.72%
18 Long Range Financial Plan
Example Santa Rosa Aqueduct Rate Scenario
• Assumes Water Demand Growth of 1% based on Deliveries of 42,407 AF. Santa Rosa AQ Deliveries: 16,820 AF to 17,510 AF. Higher Deliveries would reduce rates. • Estimated 6% growth in O&M Expenses.
• Estimated Financing FY 2028-2029: $76.5 Million, FY2031-2032: $89.8 Million. 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032
Estimated Rate per Acre-Foot 1,649 1,780 1,920 2,062 2,215 Estimated Rate Increase 7.9% 7.9% 7.9% 7.4% 7.4%
1,400
1,500
1,600
1,700
1,800
1,900
2,000
2,100
2,200
2,300
Rate per Acre-Foot Fiscal Year
2026 wholesale water rates per Acre-Foot
19 $-
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
$2,000
$2,200
$2,400
$2,600
$2,800
Sonoma County
Water Agency
Zone 7 Water
Agency
Contra Costa
Water District
Valley Water San Francisco
Public Utilities
Commission
Notes:
• Water systems including treatment requirements and rate structures vary between entities making direct apples to apples comparisons difficult.
• 2025 wholesale rates used if 2026 rates have not been published. sonomawater.org
• Technical Advisory Committee Vote –March 2
• Water Advisory Committee Vote – April 6
• Adoption by Sonoma Water’s Board – April 28
Key Dates
20 sonomawater.org
Jake Spaulding
Financial Services Division Manager
[email protected]
21 Recommendation
It is recommended by the Board of Public Utilities and Santa Rosa Water that the City Council, by motion, consider Sonoma Water’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026/27 Water Transmission Budget and proposed rate increase and provide direction to its Water Advisory Committee (WAC) representative for the April 6, 2026 WAC vote on Sonoma Water’s proposed 2026/27 Water Transmission System Budget and rate increase.
22 Questions?
23