San Jose Water, the investor-owned utility that serves close to 1 million people in the South Bay, charged the highest household drinking water bill among the country's 500 largest water systems last year, according to a report released Tuesday by the advocacy group Food & Water Watch.
The group calculated what each system charged a typical home for 60,000 gallons in 2025, its estimate of a year's indoor use. San Jose Water came out at $1,416.09, up 163% from 2015 and more than two and a half times the national average of $531. The cheapest system in the study was a public one in Hempstead, New York, at $133.
The figures leave out sewer and stormwater charges, and actual bills are likely higher because they also include outdoor watering, the San Francisco Chronicle noted in its coverage.
How the region compares
California systems held 13 of the 25 most expensive spots, according to the report. The city of San Jose's own water department ranked 11th at $1,242.04, up 228% over the decade. The Marin Municipal Water District was 10th and San Francisco 14th.
Food & Water Watch said bills at the average system rose 62% between 2015 and 2025, about 1.6 times the rate of overall inflation.
It argued that for-profit companies charge more than public agencies, noting that private systems made up 11% of the 500 studied but 44% of the top 25, and it called for more federal and state money for water infrastructure after federal infrastructure funding expired Sept. 30.