by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

La Verne City Council voted 5-0 November 3 to authorize a series of staggered water rate increases through 2029 that will ultimately see customers’ bills more than double.

The water rate increases will come in five phases: up to 35% on January 1, 2026; 25% July 1, 2026; 15% July 1, 2027; followed by 10% increases on July 1, 2028 and July 1, 2029. La Verne’s sewer rates will go up 15% January 1, 2026; and 15% at the start of each new fiscal year on July 1 through 2029.

The water rate increases are La Verne’s first since 2019.

A city report indicated the water rate increases were necessary to cover the cost of “higher cost of imported water, power, chemicals, and supplies,” “repairs and replacement of aging pipes, wells, pumps, reservoirs, and sewer lines (approximately $26 million in planned Water & Wastewater projects),” to “meet debt payment requirements and maintain prudent emergency reserves,” and to “keep services reliable when water use drops during droughts and conservation.”

La Verne residents living beyond pressure zone one, from Brackett Field to the south and Foothill Boulevard to the north, pay additional fees for water delivery “based on elevation and pumping requirements,” La Verne City Manager Ken Domer wrote in an email. “Because it costs more to move water to higher elevations, those zones have slightly higher volumetric rates to reflect the additional energy and infrastructure costs of service. Conversely, customers in lower zones pay a lower volumetric rate. The fixed service charge (based on meter size) is the same citywide, but the usage charge per 1,000 gallons varies by pressure zone to ensure rates remain equitable and cost-based, in accordance with Proposition 218 and industry-standard cost-of-service principles.”

A typical residential customer in zone one who uses about 14,000 gallons of water each billing cycle currently pays about $115. That standard bill will jump to about $145 January 1, 2026, then over the course of the subsequent increases to $178, $205, $227, and finally, $252 on July 1, 2029.

The funds generated from La Verne’s increased water rates will go toward enterprise funds for a number of capital improvement projects, including pipeline and manhole rehabilitation, and water treatment plant upgrades at its 6^thStreet and White Avenue facility.

Before landing on the final water rate hike schedule, the council weighed other options. One would have seen a 50% increase on January 1, 2026, followed by 25% on July 1, 2026, then 15%, 10%, and 10% increases on July 1 each year through 2029. Option two would have implemented a 45% increase January 1, 2026, followed by a 25% increase on October 1, 2026, then subsequent 15%, 10%, and 10% increases. The La Verne City Council received 1,542 letters in opposition to the proposed rates.

Many who spoke at the November 3 meeting requested the council reevaluate options, saying the proposed rates would affect seniors and others on fixed incomes harshly. Others said they were unhappy about being asked to pay higher rates after recently cut their water usage due to drought.

“The charges aren’t excessive if they are necessary,” said La Verne City Attorney Kimberly Barlow. “That’s what the rate study does. The fact that it is a big jump doesn’t mean it’s excessive; it means that you’ve not paid enough for a very long time, and this is just a way to catch up.”

The council also voted unanimously to conduct a follow-up water rate study by early 2027.

More info is at laverneca.gov/616/water-and-sewer-rate-study.

Details of the new rates are at laverneca.gov/679, click the “approved rates” tab.

A pressure zone map is viewable at laverneca.gov.