PLEASANTON — The Tri-Valley’s largest water agency has settled a lawsuit against the city of Pleasanton for over $18 million in fees the city allegedly failed to collect from customers.
To settle the suit, Pleasanton will pay Zone 7 Water Agency a $250,000 settlement fee and give the agency another $500,000 credit toward land for its projects related to PFAS chemical contamination, which is known to cause cancer and birth defects. Zone 7 over the past few years has upped its fight against water contamination by opening PFAS treatment plants in Pleasanton and Livermore.
The lawsuit filed in January 2024 alleged the city under-collected over $18 million in water fees after upgrading its water metering system between 2016 and 2024. The water agency claimed the city was responsible for paying back those lost fees, but Pleasanton has maintained it wasn’t.
“We know both sides brought in different perspectives on the issue,” Pleasanton Mayor Jack Balch said in an interview Monday. “Generally, I am pleased that we were able to find a compromise, a way forward.”
The two parties reached a settlement on July 17, the city said in a press release. It does not require the city to admit guilt or take responsibility for the alleged under collection of fees.
The agreement also says that Pleasanton and Zone 7 will finish upgrading the rest of the city’s metering system within three years.
Balch called the settlement a “win-win all around.”
Zone 7 General Manager Valerie Pryor said in a statement that the water company is “satisfied that this settlement achieves an outcome that is appropriately protective of all of Zone 7’s customers and allows all parties to move forward.”
Pryor said in an interview Monday that the settlement is “an outcome that we think protects our customers.”
“It’s done,” Pryor said. “At this point, it’s settled and we are all moving forward.”
Pleasanton City Manager Gerry Beaudin said in a statement that the settlement will help both parties “focus on the future, and continue addressing regional water challenges together.”
“We appreciate the opportunity to resolve this matter outside of court and in a way that allows both agencies to continue serving our shared community,” Beaudin wrote.
Pleasanton has seen its share of water troubles recently. The city has been in search of new sources of drinking water after shutting down three wells due to PFAS contamination.
It appears Pleasanton has potentially found new wells.
In a meeting last month, the Zone 7 Board of Directors provided an update on Pleasanton’s test wells at Del Prado Park, Tennis and Community Park and Hansen Park. According to Zone 7, the Del Prado well could produce between 1.87 million to 2.73 million gallons of drinkable water daily, with the tennis park producing between 4.89 million to 7.33 million gallons.
Hansen Park could produce between 4.89 million to 6 million gallons per day, though Zone 7 noted its water quality was slightly lower than the other two sites.
“We have a lot of really good signs that this could help us with adequate drinking water. Additional work and study will be required,” Mayor Balch said Monday. “We would be looking at offsetting some of the costs for our local residents related to this.”
