Silicon Valley’s largest water company is changing how it will roll out some of the state’s strictest water conservation rules to address complaints that the new per-household allocations unfairly penalize large families.
The San Jose Water Company will still assign monthly water budgets to the 1 million people it serves in San Jose and neighboring communities and charge “drought surcharges” to residents who exceed those mandatory limits.
But now, three weeks before the rules take effect, the company has decided to allow more water for homes with more people, instead of a one-size-fits-all allocation.
Exactly how much more water will be available, and what size households will be affected, remains unclear, however.