Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant Improvements
Santa Cruz
Summary
The water department is rate-funded and planning major projects — the Graham Hill treatment facility improvement (2027-2032) and pipeline replacements — with $300 million already invested system-wide. Demand keeps falling even as the service population triples.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 3
- Last 30 days
- 2
Discussed at 1 meeting in the last 60 days; most recently Oct 27, 2026.
Impact analysis
$57 million operating budget, up 7 percent, funded 98 percent by rates.
The 95,000-person service area gets more reliable water supply.
Ratepayers absorb the increases.
Mentions & discussions (2)
City Council — October 27, 2026
The city's biggest-ever water project — $232 million total — is moving to construction. It upgrades a 50-year-old treatment plant for climate resilience, wildfire-impacted water, and supply augmentation through aquifer storage and recovery. The project depends on the water rate increases headed to a public hearing next month.
City Council — May 26, 2026
The water department is rate-funded and planning major projects — the Graham Hill treatment facility improvement (2027-2032) and pipeline replacements — with $300 million already invested system-wide. Demand keeps falling even as the service population triples.
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