Many El Paso households will pay about $10 more per month on their water bills starting in March as part of the 2026 budget approved Wednesday by the utility’s board.
The $1.2 billion budget represents the most recent increase over the last decade that has funded multi-billion dollar investments for water, sewer systems and stormwater infrastructure to minimize flooding.
Members of the El Paso Public Service Board, which governs El Paso Water, voted 5-2 to approve the utility’s budget – an increase of about $204 million over last year. Mayor Renard Johnson, who serves on the board, and Stefani Block Uribarri voted against the budget and rate increase. Last year, Johnson abstained from the vote since he had just taken office and was new to the board.
“Affordability has to be part of responsible policy making,” Johnson said. “I believe we should pursue a phased approach, focus on critical priorities and explore cost controls and alternative funding so we can protect our water system without placing an undue burden on the rate payer.”
Before voting, Uribarri addressed the dozens of people who showed up for public comment asking the board not to adopt the budget with the rate increase.
“The reality is that our duty is to continue providing reliable service and improving infrastructure – and, so, it breaks my heart, frankly, to hear everybody speak, and also know that I have a fiduciary duty to make sure that we’re able to continue providing reliable service to everybody,” Uribarri said.
Under the approved rates, the water bill for an average family home will be about $92 – a 12% increase over last year. Typical customers who use about 7,000 gallons of water per month will see higher bills, while others may see lower bills because the utility offers discounts and fee waivers for low-water users. The utility also offers residential rebate programs for customers who use energy efficient appliances, toilets, rainwater harvesting and irrigation controllers, among others.
Some speakers at the PSB meeting raised concerns about the recent water main break in Northeast El Paso that impacted about 100,000 customers. The pipe has been replaced and water pressure has been restored, although customers are still under a boil water notice.
One woman was escorted out of the board chambers by security and an El Paso police officer when she attempted to interrupt the meeting to speak before public comment was being heard. It was not immediately clear if she was arrested following the incident.
Several other people raised concerns about the Meta data center being built in Northeast El Paso.
Meta Platforms is building a $1.5 billion data center on a 1,000-acre parcel that will likely use around 400,000 gallons of water per day on average when it’s operational – but utility leaders have stressed the adopted rate increase is not due to the data center’s future water usage.
El Paso Water CEO John Balliew emphasized that the utility was not involved with bringing Meta to the city, but is required to provide water services. He said the utility will install water meters near a water line that runs along the street where the data center is being built.
“Meta would fit into the very large water user category so they would pay the highest possible rate,” Balliew said. “We did not create any special rate for Meta, they did not get any rebate from the utility – (not) any break of any sort.”
Balliew said El Paso Water worked with Meta to come up with a system to use water as efficiently as possible.
Meta developers have said they will use a closed-loop water system that will recycle the same water for cooling to transfer out heat from the computer equipment for most of the year.
“We think it’s a pretty good compromise between the needs of the community and the water resources,” Balliew said.
The budget for the stormwater unit, which manages flood control, is $95 million – a $6 million decrease over last year. Rate payers will not see an increase to the stormwater fee for 2026.
Balliew said the reduction in the stormwater budget is largely due to a decrease in capital projects.
“Because of a delayed start in some of the construction (projects), that money is not going to be spent in this year,” he said, adding the expenditure may be needed in the next fiscal year.
The budget includes $770 million in capital improvements for long-term reliability and to expand the water supply and flood-control infrastructure. The budget priorities include a $431 million investment for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant and for the replacement of aging water and wastewater pipelines.
The utility will spend about $118 million to increase the water supply by way of the construction of the Pure Water Center, expansion of the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Desalination Plant, and continued well drilling. About $60 million will go to flood control, including improvements at the Palisades Stormwater Project, Hondo Pass Pond and the construction of the new Will Ruth Pond.
The post El Paso Water adopts $1.2 billion budget with rate increase appeared first on El Paso Matters.
Read: Read More