Scotts Valley Water District

What Scotts Valley Water District does

Scotts Valley Water District (SVWD) is a California Special District established in 1961 under the County Water District Act, operating as a regulated public water utility serving approximately 10,700 residents through 4,200 service connections across roughly 6 square miles in and around the City of Scotts Valley, California. The District supplies potable water exclusively from the local Santa Margarita Groundwater Basin via production wells ranging from 460 to 1,460 feet deep, processed through three water treatment plants (Orchard Run at 1.08 MGD, El Pueblo at 547,000 GPD, and Well 10 at 432,000 GPD capacity), and complemented by a recycled water distribution system that delivers 58–66 million gallons annually for non-potable irrigation. Customer engagement is delivered through an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system using Badger Beacon cellular technology for daily meter-read transmission and a WaterSmart online portal that provides hourly usage history, autopayment, peer-comparison tools, and high-usage alerts.

The District operates under a regulated-monopoly model with revenues generated primarily through monthly metered water service charges on a tiered rate structure (current median household bill $91.73/month at 3,600 gallons; proposed 2027 rates would lift this to $99.34). Revenue funds operations, debt service, and an active Capital Improvement Program, with the FY2024 Adopted Budget totaling $14.5 million ($6.8M operating, $1.1M debt service, $6.6M capital). Day-to-day operations are managed by approximately 18–19.5 FTEs across Administration, Operations, and Finance/Customer Service divisions, under the oversight of a publicly-elected five-person Board of Directors.

SVWD pursues groundwater sustainability through formal basin management (Groundwater Management Plan adopted 1994, Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency membership from 2017) and is currently executing major capital projects including the Grace Way Well, the completed Sucinto Well, and a $6.5M Santa Cruz–Scotts Valley Intertie Pipeline. The District maintains state-level regulatory compliance with the State Water Resources Control Board and is a member of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA). Service-area growth is legally bounded, with growth driven by rate adjustments and infrastructure resilience investments rather than customer-base expansion.

Name

Scotts Valley Water District

Legal name

Scotts Valley Water District

Website

https://svwd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Scotts Valley Water District is a California Special District providing potable and recycled water to approximately 10,700 residents through 4,200 metered connections across a 6-square-mile service area in Scotts Valley, CA, sourced solely from the Santa Margarita Groundwater Basin.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Utility Services

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Supply & Wastewater Utilities Administration (BPAIACAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Groundwater Monitoring Networks (Well Design, Installation & Sampling Programs) (EUAHAFAC)

Keywords

• Water utility services
• Groundwater management
• Potable water treatment
• Recycled water distribution
• Water billing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Scotts Valley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Water Service Fees: Monthly water service charges based on volumetric consumption and applicable tiered rate structures. Revenue supports operations, maintenance, infrastructure replacement, and staffing. The District is proposing rate increases effective January 2027 to fund ongoing operations and replace aging infrastructure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Scotts Valley Water District is a California Special District public water utility that extracts groundwater from the Santa Margarita Groundwater Basin, treats it through three water treatment plants, and distributes potable water to approximately 10,700 residents via 4,200 metered service connections. The District also provides recycled water for non-potable irrigation, deploys AMI (Badger Beacon) smart metering, and operates the WaterSmart customer portal for usage monitoring and bill payment.

Product overview

Scotts Valley Water District provides a comprehensive water utility service combining groundwater supply, treatment, and distribution infrastructure. The core offerings include the WaterSmart customer engagement portal with AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) using Badger Beacon technology for daily meter reading communication, groundwater extraction via production wells, three water treatment plants (Orchard Run, El Pueblo, and Well 10), and a recycled water system for non-potable irrigation. The district also manages ongoing Capital Improvement Projects for well drilling, tank rehabilitation, and the Santa Cruz intertie pipeline. These components work together to deliver sustainable, high-quality water service to approximately 10,700 residents through 4,200 service connections.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Potable Water Service

Quantifiable outcome

• System demand dropped 22% from 473 million gallons (2013) to 370 million gallons (2018)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• City of Santa Cruz Water DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaborative partnership on the $6.5 million Santa Cruz-Scotts Valley Intertie pipeline project. The intertie connects the two water systems with a 2-mile pipeline and pump station, dramatically increasing regional water system resilience, improving emergency preparedness, and enabling coordination of surface and groundwater supplies.
• State of California Department of Water ResourcesminorOthers · 1 January 2022$9.45 million in grant funding awarded to SVWD by the State of California for the Grace Way Well project. Also provided $9.45M grant funding for the Intertie #1 project connecting Scotts Valley Water District with Santa Cruz Water Department.
• Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency (SMGWA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2017Joint Powers Authority formed in June 2017 as a Groundwater Sustainability Agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Manages the Santa Margarita Groundwater Basin shared by Scotts Valley Water District, San Lorenzo Valley Water District, and County of Santa Cruz. Governed by 11-member Board with representatives from member agencies, cities, Mount Hermon Association, and well owner representatives.
• San Lorenzo Valley Water DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Joint management of the Santa Margarita Groundwater Basin. Both districts share the basin along with Mount Hermon Association and local businesses/residents using private wells. Cooperate through Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency.
• San Lorenzo Valley Water District, Mount Hermon Association, County of Santa CruzcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995Memorandum of Understanding signed in 1995 forming Santa Margarita Groundwater Basin Advisory Committee for cooperative groundwater management. This committee was active until its dissolution and substitution with Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency in 2017.
• Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA)minorOthers · 1 January 1961Membership in ACWA, the largest statewide coalition of public water agencies in the country. ACWA's 430 members collectively deliver 90% of water to cities, farms, and businesses in California.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Park Water Company: Investor-owned California water utility serving parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties. Comparable regulated water utility with similar operational, rate-setting, and capital-planning dynamics in California.
• San Jose Water Company: Investor-owned water utility serving over 1 million people in the greater San Jose area. Comparable California water utility with established AMI and customer engagement programs, providing scale and operational benchmarking.
• California Water Service Company: Largest investor-owned water utility in California serving approximately 2 million people across more than 100 systems. Provides a broad-incumbent benchmark for rates, AMI deployment, and regulatory engagement in the California water sector.

Direct peers

• San Lorenzo Valley Water District: Adjacent Santa Cruz County water district of comparable size and customer profile. Shares the Santa Margarita Groundwater Basin with SVWD through the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency and operates under similar regulatory and climatic conditions.
• Fallbrook Public Utility District: Southern California special district providing water and wastewater services to a similar-sized community (~35,000 customers). Offers direct peer comparison for California special-district governance, rate structures, and groundwater management.
• Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District: San Diego County municipal water district serving a comparable small-community footprint. Relevant peer for special-district operating models, AMI rollout, and SGMA-adjacent water management practices.
• City of Santa Cruz Water Department: Municipal water utility partnering with SVWD on the $6.5M intertie pipeline. Comparable Northern California coastal utility with mixed surface and groundwater supply, providing a natural operational and infrastructure-comparable peer.
• Monte Vista Water District: Inland Empire water district of comparable scale. Provides benchmarking for small-to-mid California water districts on customer engagement, conservation programming, and infrastructure renewal cycles.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scotts-valley-water-district

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scotts Valley Water District