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General (Policies)	6 Months Ended
General (Policies)	Jun. 30, 2015
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Accounting, Policy	The unaudited interim financial information has been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and in accordance with the instructions for Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in SJW Corp.'s 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K should be read with the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy	In January 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-05 - “Service Concession Arrangements” which became effective for SJW Corp. during the first quarter of 2015. ASU 2014-05 specifies that an operating entity should not account for a service concession arrangement as a lease in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 840 - “Leases.” An operating entity should refer to other accounting guidance topics as applicable to account for various aspects of a service concession arrangement. ASU 2014-05 also specifies that infrastructure constructed by an operator in a service concession arrangement should not be recognized as property, plant, and equipment of the operator. ASU 2014-05 required application of the update on a modified retrospective basis to service concession arrangements that existed at January 1, 2015. San Jose Water Company operates the City of Cupertino's municipal water system under a service concession arrangement. Upon adoption of this standard, SJW Corp. reclassified $1,859 of Depreciable Plant and Equipment for infrastructure related to the Cupertino service concession arrangement to intangible assets and related accumulated depreciation of $377 to accumulated amortization. In addition, SJW Corp. recognized a cumulative effect adjustment of $436, net of tax, to the opening balance of retained earnings.
Earnings Per Share, Policy	Basic earnings per share is calculated using income available to common shareholders, divided by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is calculated using income available to common shareholders divided by the weighted average number of shares of common stock including both shares outstanding and shares potentially issuable in connection with deferred restricted common stock awards under SJW Corp.'s Long-Term Incentive Plan (as amended, the “Incentive Plan”) and shares potentially issuable under the 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”).