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Balancing and Memorandum Account Recovery Procedures (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified | 3 Months Ended | 6 Months Ended |  |
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Jun. 30, 2013 | Jun. 30, 2012 | Jun. 30, 2013 | Jun. 30, 2012 | Dec. 31, 2012 | Jan. 03, 2012
Balancing and Memorandum Account Recovery Procedures [Abstract] |  |  |  |  |  |
Balancing Account, Net | $ 6,215 |  | $ 6,215 |  | $ 6,314 |
Recovery amount requested in the general rate case |  |  |  |  |  | 2,600
Memorandum Account, Net | 1,158 |  | 1,158 |  | 1,486 |
Amount of net over-collection requested to be refunded to customers |  |  |  |  |  | 700
Balancing and Memorandum Account, Net | 5,057 |  | 5,057 |  |  |
Balancing and Memorandum Accounts, Revenue and Regulatory Assets | $ 1,674 | $ 0 | $ 2,682 | $ 0 |  |
Threshold as a percentage of authorized revenue for balancing account or memorandum account review | 2.00% |  | 2.00% |  |  |

X
- Definition This represents the under-collection or over-collection associated with expense changes and the revenue authorized by the CPUC to offset those expense changes. Pursuant to Section 792.5 of the California Public Utilities Code, a balancing account must be maintained for expense items for which revenue offsets have been authorized. Since the amounts in the balancing accounts must be approved by the CPUC before they can be incorporated into rates, the Company does not recognize balancing accounts in its revenue until CPUC approval occurs. It is typical for the CPUC to incorporate any over-collected and/or under-collected balances in balancing accounts into customer rates at the time rate decisions are made as part of the Company’s general rate case proceedings by assessing temporary surcredits and/or surcharges. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | sjw_BalancingAccountNet
Namespace Prefix: | sjw_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Amount of recovery requested in a regulatory rate case. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | sjw_BalancingAccountRecoveryRequest
Namespace Prefix: | sjw_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Balancing and Memorandum Account, Net + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | sjw_BalancingAndMemorandumAccountNet
Namespace Prefix: | sjw_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Details
Name: | sjw_BalancingAndMemorandumAccountRecoveryProceduresAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | sjw_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Threshold balance of a balancing or memorandum account as a percentage of authorized revenue to trigger an account review. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | sjw_BalancingAndMemorandumAccountReviewAuthorizedRevenueThresholdPercentage
Namespace Prefix: | sjw_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Balancing and Memorandum Accounts, Revenue and Regulatory Assets + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | sjw_BalancingAndMemorandumAccountsRevenueAndRegulatoryAssets
Namespace Prefix: | sjw_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition This represents the memorandum accounts that track under-collection or over-collection for approved activities as directed by the CPUC. Rate recovery for these memorandum accounts is generally allowed in the next general rate cases. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | sjw_MemorandumAccountNet
Namespace Prefix: | sjw_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition A request to the regulatory authority for authorization to refund over-collected amounts. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | sjw_MemorandumAccountRecoveryRequest
Namespace Prefix: | sjw_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant