New Commercial Water Service

New Water Service Connections for Minor Land Divisions, Subdivisions, Multiple Unit, Commercial, Industrial, or Institutional Developments

  1. Determine if your property within the Soquel Creek Water District Service Area. This map shows the boundary lines of the District.
  2. Fill out New Water Service Application Request.
  3. Contact Conservation staff to schedule an appointment to discuss your project. District staff will review and identify project requirements and provide an estimate of charges based on proposed water use for the new development.
  4. Meet with District staff to:
  5. Purchase 10% of your offset requirement.
  6. Get Board of Director's Conditional Will Serve approval.
  7. Obtain a building permit (or tentative map) from the respective land use planning agency and provide a copy to the District.
  8. Purchase remaining 90% of your total offset requirement.
  9. Fill out the Water Use Efficiency Requirements Checklists and the Fire Protection form and submit to the District.
  10. Minor land divisions, subdivisions, and multi-family/commercial/industrial/institutional development projects must pay Water Capacity, inspection fee, and Meter Charges prior to requesting an "Unconditional Will Serve".
  11. District staff will place the project on the next available Board agenda for an "Unconditional Will Serve" approval.
  12. Once an "Unconditional Will Serve is approved, Developer shall build the project.
  13. The Developer is responsible for hiring a contractor to install water services and infrastructure with inspections done by the District inspector. Other District staff may inspect to ensure all Water Use Efficiency Requirements and Go Green building measures (if applicable) are met.
  14. Drop meters and begin service.

Complete Process Flow Diagram

Please refer to the process flow diagram for Minor Land Divisions, Subdivisions, Multiple Unit, Commercial, Industrial, or Institutional Developments. Click on Image to open up a larger .pdf.

Water Demand Offset Fees

Applicants for new service must comply with the Water Demand Offset (WDO) Program and offset two times the amount of water demand expected from the development. Offsets are available at a cost of $55,000 per acre foot.  WDO fees are used by the District to fund water conservation or supply projects in the service area that provide an equivalent amount of water.  Applicants must first contact the District and present the proposed building plans.  The District will calculate expected water demand based on the parcel size and use of the new development and determine the offset requirement. See the Water Demand Offset Page for more information.

Calculate your proposed development's water demand using the following offset values on this form.

IMPORTANT: 10% of an applicant's total WDO fee must be paid before Conditional Board approval is granted and plans can be submitted to the City of Capitola or the County of Santa Cruz. The remaining 90% of an applicant's total WDO fee must be paid before Unconditional Board approval.

New Water Services Charges

Applicant is responsible for locating and hiring a licensed contractor to install the required service.  Applicant is required to pay any remaining District fees including, the applicable meter drop for their service size, and a deposit for inspection (determined on a project by project basis).

All charges are payable prior to installation of new service, and before requesting an unconditional will serve letter from the board of Directors (e.g., subdivisions, multifamily residential developments, commercial developments, etc.).

Service Connection and Meter Charges

  Meter Drop Size Cost
Combination Service
5/8" Domestic and 2" Fire Service 5/8" & 5/8" $740
1" Domestic and 2" Fire Service 1" and 5/8" $790
Single Service
5/8" Domestic or Irrigation Service 5/8" $370
1" Domestic Service 1" $420
1 1/2" or larger Domestic Service 1 1/2" or larger Actual Costs
2" Fire Service 5/8" $370

Water Capacity Charges

In addition to the Service Connection and Meter Charges there is an established Water Capacity Charge based on the size of the meter.  Water Capacity fees are payable any time after a building permit or tentative map is granted and before the District will drop a meter and activate service. Effective January 1, 2019, standard meter charges are:

Meter Size 2019 Capacity Charge 2020 Capacity Charge
5/8 inch restricted meter $8,613 $8,871
5/8 inch meter $17,225 $17,742
3/4 inch meter $25,838 $26,613
1 inch meter $43,063 $44,355
1 1/2 inch meter $77,514 $79,839
2 inch meter $150,721 $155,243
3 inch meter $284,217 $292,744
4 inch meter $378,957 $390,325
6 inch meter $1,033,518 $1,064,525

Forms for new water service