Partnership Interest	12 Months Ended
Partnership Interest	Dec. 31, 2011
Partnership Interest [Abstract]
Noncontrolling Interest Disclosure [Text Block]	Partnership Interest In September 1999, SJW Land Company formed 444 West Santa Clara Street, L.P., a limited partnership, with a real estate development firm whereby SJW Land Company contributed real property in exchange for a 70% limited partnership interest. The real estate development firm is partially owned by an individual who also serves as the Chairman of the Board of SJW Corp. A commercial building was constructed on the partnership property and is leased to an unrelated international real estate firm under a long-term lease expiring in August 2019. The consolidated financial statements of SJW Corp. at December 31, 2011 and 2010 include the operating results of 444 West Santa Clara Street, L.P. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Results of operations and balances of the non-controlling interest are not material to the consolidated financial statements.

The entire disclosure for noncontrolling interest in consolidated subsidiaries, which could include the name of the subsidiary, the ownership percentage held by the parent, the ownership percentage held by the noncontrolling owners, the amount of the noncontrolling interest, the location of this amount on the balance sheet (when not reported separately), an explanation of the increase or decrease in the amount of the noncontrolling interest, the noncontrolling interest share of the net Income or Loss of the subsidiary, the location of this amount on the income statement (when not reported separately), the nature of the noncontrolling interest such as background information and terms, the amount of the noncontrolling interest represented by preferred stock, a description of the preferred stock, and the dividend requirements of the preferred stock.

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