What is Proposition 218
Español | 中文 | Filipino | Tiếng Việt | عربي | Pусский | Samoano
Proposition 218 is an amendment to California's Constitution that requires government agencies and utilities to notify property owners of proposed changes to rates for services. A written notice must be sent to property owners 45 days prior to a scheduled public hearing regarding proposed changes. The SFPUC mailed all our registered property owners a Proposition 218 Notice to advise a public meeting will be held on April 28, 2026 regarding proposed water and sewer rates increase for fiscal years ending 2027-2028.
Our rates reflect the true cost of operating, maintaining, and upgrading San Francisco’s water and sewer systems. To continue delivering the services that San Franciscans depend on, the SFPUC proposes introducing a new water and sewer rate structure for fiscal years ending 2027-2028. The proposed new rates represent a combined monthly bill increase for the average San Francisco residential household of $21 and $23 in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 respectively. Those increases amount to approximately 12.6% and 12.5% per year. If approved, the rate increases would become effective July 1, 2026. Even with the proposed rate increase, the average customer’s water and sewer bill in San Francisco would still be less than current bills in Los Angeles and Santa Clara and just slightly more than Oakland and San Jose.
Read the Public Notice in English, Spanish, Chinese or Filipino.
Public Hearing, Protest and Projection Procedures
Notice of Public Hearing on Proposed Water and Sewer Rates
On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at the regular San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (Commission) meeting that begins at 1:30 pm, the Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed changes to the water and sewer rates in San Francisco City Hall, Room 400, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, California, 94102.
Public Comment and Participation: The SFPUC Commission will hear oral comments and consider all Protests and Objections submitted under the Protest and Separate Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Procedures at the hearing. Additionally, the Commission will hear staff responses to Objections at the public hearing. Oral comments at the public hearing will be recorded in the public record of the hearing but will not be counted as a Protest or Objection. Only written Protests and written Objections will be counted as formal Protests under Proposition 218. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the Commission will consider adopting the proposed water and sewer rates described in the Proposition 218 Notice. The Commission may impose the proposed rates if timely written Protests are not submitted by property owners or customers of record on behalf of a majority of the parcels affected by the proposed changes.
Protest Procedure (Cal. Const., art. XIII D, § 6(a)): The owner of record of any parcel upon which the water and sewer rates are proposed for imposition, or a customer of record who is not the property owner (e.g., a tenant), may submit a written Protest to one or more proposed rate changes (“Protest”); however, only one Protest will be counted per identified parcel. Any written Protest must: (1) state that the identified property owner or customer is in opposition to the proposed rate increase; (2) provide the location of the identified parcel (by assessor’s parcel number, street address, or customer account); and (3) include the name and signature of the person submitting the Protest. If a party is protesting one or more proposed rate changes, the party should identify the rate or rates that are being protested. Although oral comments at the public hearing will not qualify as a formal Protest unless accompanied by a written Protest, the SFPUC welcomes input from the community during the public hearing on the proposed water and sewer rates. All Protests must be received by the SFPUC prior to the conclusion of the public comment portion of the public hearing on April 28, 2026.
Separate Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Procedure
(Gov. Code § 53759.1): The owner of record of any parcel upon which the water and sewer rates are proposed for imposition, or a customer of record who is not the property owner (e.g., a tenant), may submit a written Objection (“Objection”) to the Commission.
Any Objection must: (1) state the specific rate change for which the Objection is being submitted; (2) provide the location of the identified parcel (by customer account number, street address, or assessor’s parcel number); (3) include the name of the party submitting the Objection; (4) indicate the submission is an Objection; and (5) specify the grounds for alleging the SFPUC’s noncompliance with Proposition 218. Please note the specified grounds must be sufficiently detailed to allow the SFPUC to determine whether alterations to the proposed rate change may be needed. By way of example, an Objection stating a proposed rate change violates Proposition 218, without providing detail explaining the basis for this claim, is insufficient. Objections must be received by mail or hand delivered no later than 4:30 pm Pacific Time on Thursday, April 2, 2026. Failure to timely submit an Objection will bar any right to challenge the fee or charge through a legal proceeding. All timely Objections received will also be counted as a Protest. Any Objection received later than 4:30 pm on Thursday, April 2, 2026 and before the close of the public comment portion of the public hearing will only be considered and counted as a Protest and not an Objection.
Objections and Protests can be mailed to:
SFPUC, ATTN: Director of Commission Affairs,
525 Golden Gate Avenue, 13th Floor,
San Francisco, CA 94102.
Objections can also be hand-delivered to the Customer Service Bureau at 525 Golden Gate Avenue, 1st Floor, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 4:30 pm, excluding legal holidays. Hand-delivered Objections must be deposited in the box labeled “2026 Water and Sewer Rate Written Objections Only.”
Protests can also be hand-delivered to the Director of Commission Affairs during the public comments section of the rate hearing.
Objections or Protests submitted by email, fax, or other means not mentioned above will not be accepted as an Objection or a Protest. At its April 28, 2026 public hearing, the SFPUC Commission will consider all timely submitted Objections and SFPUC responses.
For questions, email ratesinfo@sfwater.org.