California Water Rate Setting Under Proposition 218: A Practical Guidebook

This guidebook provides practical direction to California water utility professionals for setting water rates in compliance with California Constitution Article XIII D, section 6 (commonly “Proposition 218”). The intent of this guidebook is to complement the American Water Works Association manual, "Principles of Water Rates, Fees, and Charges" by providing greater focus on Proposition 218 in the California public agency rate setting process. This compact guidebook avoids complex legal language and jargon. Rather, it aims to provide clear-cut guidance by laying out the legal issues as they apply to water rate setting in California and addressing practical applications of the law. Several case studies are included to provide a range of examples of how water utilities have applied Proposition 218, the legal consequences in each case, and their impact on rate setting in California.

A publication of the California-Nevada American Water Works Association Financial Management Committee