The Beginning

​In June of 2004, SCWA was assigned to be the water purveyor for the Metro Air Park Special Planning Area and a new benefit zone was created called Zone 50.  In October, SCWA entered into an agreement with the City of Sacramento for wholesaling water services.  This agreement provides for the payment of connection fees to the city for the share of capital costs for firm capacity in the city’s pumping, diversion, treatment, storage, and transmission facilities that will be used to provide wholesale and/or wheeled water service to this area.

In October of 2005, the Sacramento County Water Agency (SCWA) Board of Directors approved amendments to Code Title 4 Schedule A - Appendix No. 1 allowing SCWA to create the Zone 50 Water Development Fee and SCWA Code Title 3 allowing creation of the Special Capital Development Fee. 

A process was instituted to update those fees annually by linking them to inflationary adjustments based on an average of that year's January 1 construction cost index for 20 U.S. Cities and that year's January 1 construction cost index for San Francisco. The City of Sacramento water connection fees were to be funded with Zone 50 Water Development fees per SCWA Code Title 4 and a Special Capital Development fee per SCWA Code Title 3.

Fees

The purpose of the Water Development Fee is to provide for the payment of connection fees (City Fee) to the City of Sacramento for the share of capital costs for firm capacity in the City’s pumping, diversion, treatment, storage and transmission facilities that will be used to provide wholesale and/or wheeled water service to Zone 50.

There is a reasonable relationship between the need for the facilities and the type of development anticipated to occur in the Metro Air Park Special Planning Area because the anticipated development will create a demand for potable water for the various urban uses to be developed in Metro Air Park. The development will require an ongoing water supply for the various commercial and industrial uses and processes, including drinking water. The connection to the City’s facilities is necessary to bring potable water to these anticipated urban uses.

In 2018, the SCWA Board of Directors adopted ordinance WAO-0094 amending SCWA fees to provide for the payment of connection fees to the City for the share of capital costs for firm capacity in the City’s pumping, diversion, treatment, storage and transmission facilities that will be used to provide wholesale and/or wheeled water service to this area.   

Here are the details of Zone 50 Water Development Fees effective January 1, 2022.

Read the Zone 50 Letter to developers, builders and other interest parties.