The Board will consider the proposed three-year rate plan on May 11, 2026.
Click the links below to Download the Rate Insert:
Metro Main and Hub
Metro Southwest – Diablo Village
Metro Southwest – E&T
Metro Southwest – Lazy B
To ensure the revenue you entrust to Metro Water District (District) on a monthly basis is used in the most efficient manner, the District has continued to explore opportunities to enhance the District’s financial stability. One such method is a multi-year rate plan, as opposed to the year-to-year consideration of rate and fee adjustments by the District Board of Directors. This multi-year rate plan is crucial to ensuring stable revenue to navigate the significant challenges associated with the ongoing drought in the Colorado River System, where the District receives the majority of our water resources via the Central Arizona Project (CAP).
It is anticipated that reductions in Arizona’s CAP supply will significantly increase the cost the District pays for CAP water to ensure we have water to meet your needs 100 years into the future. Additionally, water is very heavy and the average District customer receives approximately 30 tons of water each month. The power required to deliver this weight of water is significant and the District anticipates a substantial increase in energy costs to deliver water to you. The CAP and power cost increases collectively result in an increase in the District’s operational costs of 5%. The District also needs to navigate inflationary costs (currently at approximately 3%) on the remaining budgetary items, such as chlorine and other treatment
activities to ensure safe water, along with other essential materials and equipment. In addition to the above cost increases that are beyond the District’s control, the District needs to continue the proactive replacement of aging water infrastructure to ensure reliable water delivery to you. Together, these items would justify over a 12% annual increase, but we are recommending a much lower rate increase due to numerous initiatives we have successfully pursued including external funding from grants, infrastructure partnerships, and conservation agreements. In the last three years, these initiatives have resulted in nearly $12 million of non-ratepayer revenue.
The Board will be asked to consider a three-year rate plan on May 11, 2026, thus continuing our goal of providing stability and transparency on your water bill. The average annual increase will be 4.8%* for Metro Main and Hub customers, 4.3%* for Metro Southwest – Diablo Village customers, 6.2%* for Metro Southwest – E&T customers, and 5.3%* for Metro Southwest – Lazy B customers. To put this into perspective, this means that you will be paying approximately $2.30 for a ton (2,000 pounds) of safe, reliable water delivered to you at all hours.
*The average annual increase is from Fiscal Year 2026 to Fiscal Year 2029 with a 0% increase already approved for Fiscal Year 2026.
If you would like more information, please direct your questions or comments to us via:
phone (520-575-8100), email (info@metrowater.com), or letter (Metro Water District, P.O. Box 36870, Tucson, AZ 85740).