Pasadena Completes Important Water Infrastructure Upgrade at Booster Station

Pasadena Water and Power announced it recently completed a major upgrade to its Ross Booster Station, enhancing the city’s water distribution capabilities and improving system resilience.

The project replaced aging equipment and expanded flow capacity at the station.

Originally constructed in 1959, the Ross Booster Station has been a crucial component of Pasadena’s water system for over six decades. It serves as an important link in the distribution network, pumping water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s P-5 connection to Pasadena Water and Power’s Eagle Rock Reservoir.

“Some of the Water System’s existing booster pumps [were] old and inefficient,” according to the city’s 2026 Capital Improvement Program Water System document. “Greater operating reliability and efficiencies will be realized by these upgrades. This project directly enhances fire protection and water quality.”

The comprehensive modernization included upsizing pumps, adding standby capacity, replacing booster pumps, upgrading piping, replacing electrical service and equipment, and installing emergency generator connections to maintain operations during power outages.

The improvements can directly enhance fire protection by maintaining adequate water pressure and flow for firefighting purposes.

The upgrade was part of Pasadena Water and Power’s broader “Booster Improvements” initiative (Project No. 1073) with an estimated total cost of $7,840,000, according to the capital improvement program.