City of San Diego $40M Water Rate Class Action Settlement

City of San Diego $40M Water Rate Class Action SettlementSingle-family residential water customers in San Diego between Aug. 14, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2023, may be eligible for a refund from a class action lawsuit.City of San Diego $40M Water Rate Class Action SettlementWeekly NewsletterClass actions settlements delivered to your inbox.Thank you! Check your inbox for a welcome email.Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.William C. GendronEditor in ChiefPublishedAugust 11, 2026 2:18 PMUpdatedAugust 24, 2026Join the DiscussionSingle-family residential water customers of the City of San Diego between Aug. 14, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2023, may be eligible to claim a refund from a class action settlement.The City of San Diego agreed to pay $40 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it charged unconstitutional single-family residential water rates that were not proportional to the cost of providing water service. Who are the class members?Class members must meet the following criteria:They were a single-family residential water customer of the City of San Diego.They received water service from the city at any time between Aug. 14, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2023.The class includes both property owners and tenants who were responsible for paying the water bill. Both current and former customers are eligible as long as they received service during the class period.How much can class members receive?The settlement administrator will distribute the net settlement fund among eligible class members based on the difference between what they actually paid and what they would have paid under a lawful rate structure as calculated by the city’s expert. The settlement class is estimated to include approximately 436,069 members.No action needed to receive compensationEligible class members do not need to file a claim to receive a refund payment. The settlement administrator will use the city’s records to identify eligible customers and calculate refund amounts.