We asked the four Scotts Valley Water District candidates running for three seats one question. Candidates Ruth Stiles, Brian Youmans and Bill Jager answered.
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The district is considering a five-year rate increase and changes to its rate structure to pay for operations and aging infrastructure. The proposal would increase the median household bill by an estimated $7.61 per month initially. Do you support the proposed water-rate increase and rate-structure changes? If not, how would you fund operations and infrastructure improvements without them?
Ruth Stiles
Scotts Valley Water District Director
Scotts Valley Water District has embarked on an ambitious capital improvement program. The rate increase is needed to replace aging infrastructure and improve our efficiency in providing safe, reliable water for the community.
Ruth Stiles
I’m currently on the Board and I voted for the rate increase. It’s one of the hardest decisions that we as Board members have to make. However, it is in the best interests of the community and the District. We worked hard to keep the rate increase as low as possible, while still maintaining and updating our infrastructure.
Here are some projects that the new rates will support:
- Landslide repair below the Glenwood tank
- Completing and equipping our two new wells
- Starting seismic upgrades at the Bethany tank
- Main line replacement program
- Updating several pump stations
The funds from the rate increase will also go toward operations, including new water safety programs. One program will further protect our water from backflow contamination. Another new program monitors lead and copper using advanced new methodology, the first program of its kind in the state.
In addition, the cost of the District’s operations is affected by the inflation that we all feel. PG&E is our largest monthly bill, second only to payroll. Pumping water from the deep in the ground takes a lot of energy. Increases in PG&E costs have an outsize impact on our bottom line.
I always worry about how rate increases will affect people with low incomes. That’s why we started a rate assistance program. Information can be found on our website at www.svwd.org/Assistance. I urge anyone who is qualified to apply for this assistance. We want to help out those who are most severely affected by the rate increase.
This rate increase will allow the District to continue to provide safe and reliable water for our community.
I ask for your vote in November to keep the District efficient and strong.
Brian Youmans
Administrative Professional
I do support the proposed rate increase. As Chair of SEIU 521’s Committee on Political Education, I have spent a lot of time advocating for working families, so I take any increase in the cost of essential services seriously.
At the same time, my experience working in local government has taught me that responsible budgeting means not only meeting today’s needs, but planning for the costs a public agency will face years down the road.
Brian Youmans
The District’s proposed rate increase is intended to provide the revenue needed for ongoing operations and maintenance, infrastructure replacement, and future capital improvement projects.
For a median household, the District estimates that the proposed initial increase would be about $7.61 per month. The actual impact will vary depending on factors such as meter size, customer type, and water usage.
I believe this is a worthwhile investment in the long-term reliability of our water system. The District’s FY 2026-27 Capital Improvement Projects budget includes more than $5.9 million in planned project spending. That investment represents the wells, tanks, pumps, treatment facilities, pipelines, and technology that allow the District to deliver water reliably every day.
Water reliability is my top priority. With major projects underway and planned, including pump-station improvements, main-line replacements, and the upcoming Bethany Tank replacement, I want to make sure we continue investing in our infrastructure before problems become emergencies. Scotts Valley should have a water system that is reliable not just today, but for the next generation.
The proposed rate schedule would establish maximum annual increases through January 2031. It is important to note that these are maximums, not guarantees that customers will pay the full increase each year. The District states that the Board will continue evaluating rates based on the District’s actual financial needs and retains the discretion to adopt rates lower than the proposed maximums.
For me, the question ultimately comes down to balancing two responsibilities: keeping water service affordable for residents while making sure the District has the resources to maintain its system and address infrastructure needs before they become emergencies.
I believe responsible financial planning means doing both.
Bill Jager
Retired Business Executive
As a member of the Scotts Valley Engineering and Resource committee, I have had direct involvement with the presentations from the consultants on the assessment of the proposed budget and annual increases over the next 5 years.
I would rather approach my position by comparing water rates across Santa Cruz County even though there are major differences each water district has to deal with.
A direct breakdown illustrates where Scotts Valley Water District (SVWD) sits relative to its regional neighbors:
Typical Monthly Bill Comparison (Average Residential Usage ~5–6 CCF)
- City of Santa Cruz Water Department: ~$71 – $99 / month. Lowest relative rates in the county. Benefit from a massive customer base (~100,000 people) and surface water gravity-fed from the San Lorenzo River and Loch Lomond reservoir, keeping production costs lower per connection.
- Scotts Valley Water District (SVWD): ~$98 / month (prior to the proposed multi-year increase). SVWD relies entirely on local groundwater pumped from the Santa Margarita Groundwater Basin. Pumping, treating, and managing hard groundwater plus maintaining pressurization over hilly terrain pushes costs higher than flat surface-water systems.
- Soquel Creek Water District (Serves Capitola & Aptos): ~$107 – $132+ / month. Higher than SVWD due to heavy capital spending on major resiliency projects—most notably the Pure Water Soquel groundwater replenishment project to fight saltwater intrusion.
- San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD – Serves Felton, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek): ~$124 – $140+ / month. The highest in the immediate area. SLVWD maintains miles of aging pipeline spread across rugged mountain terrain with very low customer density per mile of pipe, alongside massive storm damage repair costs from recent winter storms.
Scotts Valley’s rates are currently moderate for Santa Cruz County—noticeably higher than the City of Santa Cruz (which benefits from municipal scale), but significantly lower than SLVWD or Soquel Creek. Unlike Santa Cruz, SVWD has zero surface water rights and must fund ongoing groundwater recharge, inter-agency conjunctive use projects, and PFAS/contaminant monitoring out of a relatively small ratepayer base (~10,000 customers). The proposed $7.61/month initial increase aims to keep SVWD from drifting into the severe deficit/high-rate territory currently faced by SLVWD, where deferred maintenance eventually forced much steeper, emergency rate hikes.
While no rate hike is popular, Scotts Valley’s proposed trajectory keeps its utility costs below neighboring mountain and mid-county districts while targeting essential groundwater sustainability.
Therefore, I do support the proposed budget and water rate increase starting Jan. 2027, with the caveat that each following year, the budget will of course be reviewed and adjusted appropriately.