XML 37 R26.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.5.0.2

General - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands | Jun. 14, 2016 | Nov. 24, 2015 | Sep. 30, 2016 | Jun. 30, 2016 | Dec. 31, 2015 | Sep. 30, 2015 | Jun. 30, 2015 | Dec. 31, 2014
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Regulatory Assets [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Water reduction target goal (percent) | 20.00% | 30.00% |  |  |  |  |  |
Balancing Account, Net |  |  | $ 29,823 | $ 38,013 | $ 36,296 | $ 34,359 | $ 42,950 | $ 48,437
Drought surcharges |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Regulatory Assets [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Balancing Account, Net |  |  | $ (6,320) | $ (1,716) | $ (359) | $ (6,413) | $ (80) | $ 0

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 Water Reduction Target Goal, Percentage + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | sjw_WaterReductionTargetGoalPercentage
Namespace Prefix: | sjw_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_RegulatoryAssetLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_RegulatoryAssetAxis=sjw_DroughtSurchargesMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |