Pasadena Invites Residents to Ask About the Water They Drink

The water flowing through Pasadena’s taps comes from two very different places: a 40-square-mile underground aquifer and a system of aqueducts stretching hundreds of miles to the Colorado River and Northern California. On Wednesday evening, the utility that manages the city’s inflows from  both sources wants to explain how it all works.

Pasadena Water and Power will host a virtual Water Town Hall on May 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom, walking community members through the city’s water supply, treatment, and delivery system — a network of 500 miles of pipeline, wells, reservoirs, and treatment facilities that serves about 170,000 people across Pasadena and adjacent communities, including portions of Altadena, East Pasadena, and San Gabriel.

The town hall is free and open to the public. Registration and Zoom link details are available at PWPweb.com/TheRippleEffect. For accessibility accommodations, contact (626) 744-7311 or CSC@CityOfPasadena.net, with at least 72 hours’ advance notice.

The event arrives 16 months after the Eaton Fire, which damaged several PWP reservoirs and pump stations. The fire prompted a do-not-drink water advisory before PWP and the State Water Resources Control Board confirmed water safety across the utility’s entire service area later that month.

Roughly one-third of Pasadena’s water supply comes from the Raymond Basin, a natural aquifer underlying the city and neighboring communities that is replenished through surface water runoff captured in the Arroyo Seco and Eaton spreading basins.

The remaining two-thirds is imported from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which draws from the Colorado River and the State Water Project. In 2023, PWP provided approximately 23,800 acre-feet — about 8.6 billion gallons — to its customers, according to the utility’s annual drinking water quality report.

The Raymond Basin, managed by the Raymond Basin Management Board, is the first and oldest groundwater adjudication in California, according to PWP.

Councilmember Justin Jones, who chairs the City Council’s Municipal Services Committee overseeing PWP, said in a statement this month that he has focused on “making sure Pasadena is thinking ahead on water reliability,” including efforts to “strengthen and optimize our water portfolio, recharge the Raymond Basin, support conservation, and make sure Pasadena Water and Power is planning for a more constrained imported water future.”

The town hall is part of Water Awareness Month, an annual campaign in which PWP joins utilities nationwide to highlight water as a resource requiring stewardship.

This year’s May lineup includes seven events, according to a city press release: a Garden Show and Tell contest running through June 12, pop-up events at the Victory Park Farmers Market on May 2 and the Villa Parke Farmers Market on May 12, a garden design workshop with the Metropolitan Water District on May 7, a preschool storytime with a water treatment operator at Jefferson Branch Library on May 19, a public tour of the Arroyo Seco watershed on May 22, and a tour of the Monk Hill Water Facility on May 23. The Arroyo Seco and Monk Hill tours require registration.

PWP, led by General Manager David Reyes since May 2025, is a community-owned, not-for-profit utility operated by the City of Pasadena. It delivers water to households and businesses in Pasadena and portions of the San Gabriel Valley and provides electricity to more than 65,000 connections.

The town hall begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday and is accessible via Zoom. For event details, registration links, and information about other Water Awareness Month activities, visit PWPweb.com/TheRippleEffect. For general questions, contact the City Service Center at (626) 744-7311 during business hours.