Help paying a San Jose water bill, whichever company sends it
San Jose isn't served by a single water utility, so the first thing worth sorting out is which company sends your bill. Three of them split the city, and each runs its own low-income discount, which means the help you can get depends on who you pay.
This page covers the discount offered by each San Jose water company, the county-wide fund that helps people who have fallen behind, and how to set up a payment plan. It stays on the water bill itself; sewer and trash service are billed separately by the city.
First, find out which company bills you
San Jose Water covers the large majority of the city and several neighboring towns. Great Oaks Water serves part of the south side, and the City of San Jose runs its own Municipal Water System for sections of the north and east. The city keeps a tool that looks up which company serves your address at https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/environmental-services/water-utilities/drinking-water, and that's the place to start if you aren't sure, because everything below depends on it.
The low-income discount from your water company
If San Jose Water sends your bill, the program to ask for is its Customer Assistance Program, which it used to call WRAP. It takes 15 percent off the full water bill for households whose income qualifies. The bill needs to be in your name, or you need to be a submetered tenant in a mobile home park, and you renew it every couple of years.
- NOTE: If you already have the PG&E CARE discount, you have met the income test, but you still have to send in a San Jose Water application to start the water discount, since it does not happen on its own. You can apply by email at [email protected] or by mail to 110 West Taylor Street, San Jose, CA 95110, and the customer service line is (408) 279-7900.
Customers of the other two companies have their own versions. Great Oaks Water runs a low-income discount and can walk you through enrolling at (408) 227-9540. The City of San Jose's Municipal Water System works a little differently, letting income-eligible and medically vulnerable customers mark that status on their account, which changes how late payments and shut-offs are handled; the steps are on the city's water payment resources page at https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/environmental-services/water-utilities/drinking-water/customer-service/water-payment-resources.
Help when you've fallen behind or a shut-off is coming
A discount lowers the ongoing bill, but it won't clear a balance you have already run up. For that, the strongest option in San Jose isn't a charity at all but a funded county program. Valley Water, the agency behind the county's water supply, pays for a Water Rate Assistance Program that puts money directly toward overdue water bills, up to about $1,000 in a program year. It's run by Sacred Heart Community Service (see our guide to Sacred Heart programs in Santa Clara County). It's open to income-eligible households anywhere in Santa Clara County no matter which company bills them, and it has kept thousands of households from losing service since it started. Both San Jose Water and the city point their own customers to it.
Your water company can also set you up on a payment plan so an overdue balance is paid off gradually instead of in one lump. San Jose Water's plans, called PromisePay (website: https://www.sjwater.com/customer-care/promisepay-payment-plans-water-bill-payment-help/, carry no interest; Great Oaks and the city arrange plans over the phone.
One more county-wide source is the Season of Sharing Fund - see https://seasonofsharing.org/get-help/, which covers one-time emergencies and can send a payment straight to your water company. It usually wants to see that you have already turned to your water company for help before it steps in.
Discount rates, income cutoffs, and the funding behind one-time help all shift from year to year, and a program that is open today may pause when its money runs low. Check the current terms with your water company or the program itself before counting on them.
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