Metropolitan Water District Raises Wholesale Water Rates 6.2% for Next Two Years, Adding to Pasadena’s Rising Costs

The water that flows through Pasadena’s taps is about to cost more at the wholesale level — again.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies roughly 60% of Pasadena’s drinking water, voted unanimously on April 14 to adopt a two-year budget that includes overall rate increases of 6.2% on January 1, 2027, and another 6.2% on January 1, 2028. The increases will be charged to MWD’s 26 member agencies, including the city of Pasadena.

Cynthia Kurtz, the former Pasadena city manager who has represented the city on MWD’s board for more than 12 years, submitted a memorandum to the city informing officials of the adopted rates and charges for fiscal years 2026-27 and 2027-28, according to the City Manager’s Office. The memorandum was posted on the City of Pasadena website.

The 6.2% increases are lower than the 8.5% annual increases MWD’s board approved in the prior two-year budget cycle, which took effect on January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026. But they continue a pattern of rising wholesale water costs that Pasadena Water and Power has cited as a driver of its own rate increases.

The approved operating budget totals $2.3 billion for fiscal year 2026-27 and $2.4 billion for fiscal year 2027-28. It also increases MWD’s Capital Investment Plan by more than $300 million, bringing the total to $1.025 billion — funds aimed at replacing and refurbishing what MWD describes as an aging water treatment and delivery system.

“Parts of our system are nearly 100 years old, and despite this age, Metropolitan staff have done a great job of reliably delivering water,” Adán Ortega, Jr., MWD’s board chair, said in an MWD press release. “But we cannot keep kicking the can down the road. There are pumps and pipes that must be replaced now to prevent expensive, high-risk failures later.”

The budget also includes $150 million for the planning and final design of the first stage of Pure Water Southern California, a water recycling project that MWD is developing in partnership with the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts. The first stage would produce 45 million gallons of purified wastewater per day, according to MWD. At full capacity, the project could produce 150 million gallons daily — enough for 1.5 million people, according to MWD.

MWD’s board certified the final environmental impact report for Pure Water Southern California in February 2026, according to MWD’s website. The board is expected to decide whether to proceed with construction later this year as part of its Climate Adaptation Master Plan for Water evaluation.

“The budget approved today advances Metropolitan’s mission to prepare Southern California for the future,” General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh said in the MWD press release. “While we are reinvesting in the reliability of our existing water delivery system, we are also taking important steps to ensure the region has access to water supplies amid a changing climate.”

The budget also anticipates a small increase to the voter-approved special tax MWD levies on properties in its service area, amounting to an increase of approximately $12 per year for the average-value home, according to MWD’s press release.

Pasadena is one of MWD’s 26 member agencies that collectively serve nearly 19 million people across six Southern California counties. MWD imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies. About 36% of Pasadena’s water comes from the Raymond Groundwater Basin, pumped from 16 deep wells located throughout the city.

Kurtz, who serves on MWD’s Executive Committee and several other board committees, was appointed to the board in April 2013. Before joining the board, she served as Pasadena’s city manager for nearly 10 years and was the city’s first female city manager, according to MWD.

The budget was developed over more than a year through what MWD described as a transparent process. The board began discussing the draft budget in February 2026 and held four public workshops before the April 14 vote, according to MWD.

Pasadena Water and Power’s own water rates are governed by a separate five-year rate adjustment plan the Pasadena City Council approved in 2024. That plan included increases of 13% in 2024, 12% in 2025, 9% in 2026, 8% in 2027, and 7% in 2028. PWP cited increased costs of purchased water from MWD as one of the factors driving those increases.

The memorandum from Kurtz is available on the City of Pasadena website at cityofpasadena.net/city-manager.