Pasadena : Water Rate Plan Rejected

The Pasadena Board of Directors has rejected a plan by the city’s Water Division staff to restructure city water rates after residents complained that the plan would increase costs for homeowners with extensive landscaping.

The board has instructed the Water Division staff to return with a revised plan on Sept. 19.

The proposed plan would have generated $839,000 needed for additional operating expenses by discouraging high-volume water use and rewarding conservation. Low-volume water users would have had lower bills under the plan, while high-volume users would have seen their rates rise as much as 40%.

But after a contingent of homeowners from Chapman Woods protested at Tuesday’s meeting that the proposed increase discriminated against homeowners, the board directed the staff to modify the plan and add a 3.15% rate increase for all water users.