SoCal Residents Will See Higher Water Rates in 2025, 2026

The increases are necessary to offset revenue lost during recent droughts and record-breaking rain, agency leaders say.

Water flows through the California Aqueduct, which moves water from northern California to the state's drier south, as it passes through the Mojave Desert in Pearblossom, Calif., on May 4, 2022. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides water to more than 19 million people over six counties, recently announced it will increase rates and property tax levies the next two years while the state goes through various changes to its water system.

The agency’s 38-member board voted April 9 to increase water rates by 8.5 percent in 2025 and another 8.5 percent in 2026.