What Was Glendale Asked to Decide About Water Rates?

If you’re buying, selling or holding property in Glendale, the city’s proposed water rates could change the property’s carrying cost. The City Council was asked on November 3, 2026, to consider new rates for 2027 through 2031, including higher fixed charges, two usage tiers and a new pump zone charge.

As of November 4, 2026, the result of that hearing and vote was not available because council minutes had not been posted. Check the City Clerk or Glendale’s proposed water rates page for the final decision. This is general information and not legal advice.

What was before the City Council on November 3?

The council was asked to decide whether to establish the proposed water rates and charges for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

The November 3 City Council agenda listed a public hearing on the proposed increases and a resolution establishing water rates and charges. A separate motion concerned Glendale Water & Power’s Water System cash reserve policy.

The proposed rates were scheduled to take effect beginning January 1, 2027, only after completion of the Proposition 218 process and council approval. Further adjustments would occur each January 1 through 2031.

This followed council action on September 1, 2026. At that meeting, the council authorized the Glendale Water & Power General Manager to begin the Proposition 218 notification process. Crescenta Valley Weekly later reported that the change had not yet been approved before the November hearing and that written protests were being submitted.

Why did staff propose changing the rates?

Staff identified purchased water and capital investment as the main financial pressures behind the proposal.

Most of Glendale’s supply is imported. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California raised its volumetric rates in both fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026 and added fixed charges. Glendale’s draft notice said the proposed two-tier structure reflected two water sources, local groundwater and more expensive imported water.

Glendale Water & Power also hired Raftelis Financial Consultants to prepare a five-year Water Financial Plan and Cost of Service Analysis. The plan included about $100.3 million in repair and replacement projects, including $42.3 million for pumps, tanks, reservoirs and other facility upgrades and $30.4 million for pipeline replacement.

Staff recommended about $20 million in average annual capital investment, paired with about $40 million in bond financing. The system has approximately 400 miles of transmission and distribution pipelines. Staff cautioned that the annual investment should not be read as covering every long-term infrastructure requirement.

How would monthly fixed charges change?

The proposal would raise the monthly fixed charge, with the amount determined by meter size.

For a 5/8-inch meter, the current fixed charge is $19.37. The proposal listed $42.00 beginning January 1, 2027, followed by $46.62 in 2028, $51.28 in 2029, $56.41 in 2030 and $60.36 in 2031.

A 3/4-inch meter currently carries a $27.02 fixed charge, while a 1-inch meter carries a $42.37 charge. Both would move to $42.00 in 2027, the same proposed amount as the 5/8-inch meter. For a 1 1/2-inch meter, the current charge is $80.67 and the proposed 2027 charge is $113.37.

Meter size therefore matters when reviewing a property’s likely water cost. The proposed fixed charge applies before considering water use, pump zone charges, the Water Adjustment Charge, taxes or a drought surcharge.

How would the usage tiers work?

The proposal would replace the existing structures with two usage tiers for every customer class.

One HCF is about 748 gallons. Single-family customers currently pay $2.80 per HCF for the first 8 HCF, $4.11 for 9 through 15 HCF and $4.28 above 15 HCF. Under the 2027 proposal, single-family and multi-family rates would be $4.09 in Tier 1 and $6.92 in Tier 2.

For 5/8-inch, 3/4-inch and 1-inch meters, Tier 1 would cover 0 through 10 HCF. Usage over 10 HCF would fall into Tier 2. Larger meters would receive larger Tier 1 allotments. A 1 1/2-inch meter, for instance, would have a Tier 1 allotment of 0 through 33 HCF.

By 2031, the proposed single-family rates were $5.87 for Tier 1 and $9.95 for Tier 2. Commercial accounts, which currently have one $4.04 rate for all units, would move to $4.17 for Tier 1 and $6.92 for Tier 2 in 2027.

For multi-family property, the change is especially relevant: the proposed Tier 1 allotment follows meter size rather than dwelling-unit count. Other Learn guides on utility rates include Yorba Linda water and sewer rates and Barstow’s proposed water rates.

What is the proposed pump zone charge?

The proposal would add a charge based on the elevation zone to which Glendale Water & Power pumps water.

The utility serves seven elevation zones, called pump zones. The proposed 2027 charge for each unit of water ranged from $0.05 in zone 1, at 724 feet, to $5.08 in zone 7, at 2,483 feet. Between them, the listed charges were $0.25 in zone 2, $0.84 in zone 3, $1.83 in zone 4, $2.31 in zone 5 and $3.42 in zone 6.

The current charge is listed as not applicable. A customer’s pump zone is not printed on the water bill, but the city’s water bill estimator includes a pump zone map. The estimator does not look up addresses, so you need to identify the applicable zone before entering it.

See Walnut’s pump zone surcharge guide for another city with an elevation-based charge.

What should property buyers, sellers and investors check?

You should check the property’s meter size, pump zone, recent usage and complete GWP bills before estimating its water cost.

Ask the seller for recent bills, then compare the usage and meter information with the city’s estimator. The estimator uses rates from Glendale’s August 27, 2026 notice, but it excludes the Water Adjustment Charge and utility user tax. It also excludes the drought surcharge. A Phase 3 drought surcharge of $0.45 per HCF is in effect by council action, while the proposed 2027 through 2031 rates do not include a drought surcharge.

The Water Adjustment Charge is authorized under Glendale Municipal Code Section 13.08.150. It reflects changes in the cost of purchased water and the electricity needed to pump and deliver it.

Water charges are one part of carrying cost, alongside items such as a possible supplemental property tax bill. Sellers assembling property records may also find the California seller disclosure guide useful.

A Glendale homeowner showed us a notice about proposed water rates and asked whether the new amount was already part of her bill. The notice described a decision still going through the city’s rate-setting process. We reviewed the proposed schedule and effective dates with her rather than treating every number in the notice as a current charge.

How did the Proposition 218 protest process work?

The notice set out these rules for the November 3 hearing.

Under the notice, a property owner or customer of record for a parcel subject to the proposed rates could submit a written protest before the hearing closed.

A valid protest had to be on paper, state opposition, name the owner or customer of record, identify the property by street address, assessor’s parcel number or account number, and include an original signature and printed name. Owners of multiple parcels could file one protest for each parcel.

An emailed, faxed or spoken protest could not be counted. General comments and emails also did not count as formal legal protests. Mailed or delivered protests had to reach City staff before the public hearing concluded, and late protests could not be accepted after it closed.

A majority protest would exist if written protests represented a majority of the affected parcels. If that threshold were reached, the council could not adopt the proposed adjustment. The council could adjust the rate updates, but not above the amounts stated in the notice.

The scheduled hearing location was the Council Chambers at 613 E. Broadway, 2nd Floor. For records or questions, the city prints GWP Customer Service at (855) 550-4497, Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The cost-of-service analysis was also available at the GWP Customer Service Counter, 141 N. Glendale Avenue, 2nd Level.

The short version

Glendale’s council was asked to consider a five-year water rate plan with higher fixed charges, a two-tier usage structure and a new pump zone charge.

The proposal was scheduled to start January 1, 2027, subject to the Proposition 218 process and council approval. As of November 4, 2026, the outcome had not been confirmed because council minutes were not posted. Check the City Clerk or GlendaleCA.gov/ProposedWaterRates before treating any proposed figure as final.

For property planning beyond utility costs, use the home value tool.