Dougherty Valley Standby Assessment District (DVSAD) FAQs

If you live in the Dougherty Valley area of San Ramon and are a DSRSD water customer, you may notice two DSRSD-related charges on your Contra Costa County property tax bill. The DVASD was formed in 2000 to pass through and collect certain charges related to the costs of providing drinking water from the State Water Project (SWP). These charges represent a portion of the cost of bringing that drinking water to your neighborhood.

DSRSD purchases water from the Zone 7 Water Agency (Zone 7); Zone 7 receives and purchases water supply from the SWP, which is the primary source of drinking water in the Tr-Valley and serves over 27 million Californians. In Alameda County, Zone 7 directly recovers a portion of SWP-related costs through assessments collected on the tax rolls. However, Zone 7 does not have the authority to directly recover SWP costs through the Contra Costa County property tax rolls. As a result, for residential and commercial customers* in Dougherty Valley these costs are recovered through two specific charges, levied by DSRSD on behalf of Zone 7:

• Standby Charge: An annual fixed amount of $170.75 per parcel, first imposed in 2000 and which has remained unchanged since 2019
• Incremental Charge: A variable amount first imposed in 2019 that is set annually based on changing costs of SWP water supplies

These appear on your property tax bill as:

• “DSRSD-DRTY VLY 01-1” (Standby Charge)
• “DSRSD-DRTY VLY SWP” (Incremental Charge)

*Government agencies are billed these amounts directly by DSRSD

The Incremental Charge for Dougherty Valley customers pays the increasing portion of costs tied to the SWP that now exceed the Standby Charge amount. SWP operations are complex, and over the past 25 years SWP costs have increased significantly beyond estimates. The amount of the Incremental Charge is tied directly to the cost of water Zone 7 purchases from the SWP, which can increase each year due to many factors including

• Increased energy costs for pumping and transporting water
• Infrastructure maintenance and upgrades, including major capital projects such as the 2018 Orville Reservoir Spillway repair
• Regulatory changes or environmental protections that add new requirements and costs to diversion of water, reservoir storage, and conveyance

The Incremental Charge ensures that these SWP costs are recovered fairly and equally from all customers receiving water from the SWP whether in Alameda or Contra Costa County.

For additional information on SWP costs, please visit the Zone 7 website at Zone 7 Water Agency – State Water Facilities Fund (starting on page 108).

The Incremental Charge is reviewed and updated annually to reflect Zone 7’s SWP costs to supply water to DSRSD for Dougherty Valley. The current amount was established by DSRSD Resolution No. 9-24(PDF, 3MB), which set the DVSAD Incremental Charge for the years 2024-2028 and provides that adjustments following the initial 2024 rate would be based on Dougherty Valley Incremental State Water Project Annual Reports.

Details of the SWP charges and the parcel-level calculations for the 2025 DVSAD rates can be found in the Dougherty Valley Incremental State Water Project Charge Report for FY 2025–26.(PDF, 1MB)

At their June 17, 2025 meeting, the DSRSD Board of Directors will consider approving collection of the charges through property tax bills. This is a routine, procedural step that approves only the method of collection; the charges themselves are not on the agenda for consideration at this meeting. Customers are welcome to attend the public hearing and comment on the proposed action.