Contra Costa Water District Kicks Off 2026 With Fee Updates, Fleet Contracts, and a Delta Conveyance Setback

The Contra Costa Water District Board of Directors opened the new year with a slate of housekeeping measures—updating fees, locking in fleet maintenance contracts, and taking stock of water supply conditions—while legal counsel delivered news that could reshape the state's most ambitious water infrastructure project: the Third District Court of Appeal has denied the Department of Water Resources' preferred funding mechanism for the Delta Conveyance Project.

• Board adopts 2026 fees and charges across three resolutions, including a late-payment penalty hike to 3%.

• Los Vaqueros Reservoir sits at roughly 90% capacity—about 145,000 acre-feet—as statewide snowpack tracks near average.

• Appellate court ruling leaves DWR without its primary Delta Conveyance funding source; Supreme Court review expected.

• Fleet maintenance contracts with Swenson Mobile Fleet Repair and Fleetworks Inc. authorized at up to $415,000 for fiscal year 2026.

• New state law (SB 827) adds fiscal and financing training requirements for board members.

The board held a public hearing on proposed 2026–2027 fees and charges, then adopted three resolutions updating various fees across the district's code of regulations—all by unanimous voice vote.