During a public hearing on Wednesday, June 4, Western Municipal Water District’s (Western Water) Board of Directors moved to approve a new four-year rate plan for water and sewer services effective July 1, 2025, through 2028. Customers will see the first rate change on bills beginning in July 2025. The adopted rates are designed to maintain safe, reliable service while addressing the rising operations costs due to inflation, increasing imported water costs, infrastructure maintenance, and growing state and federal regulations. 

“These annual, steady adjustments are necessary to maintain and improve the critical infrastructure that supports our community’s water supply,” said General Manager Craig Miller. “By planning responsibly now, we can avoid larger, more sudden rate hikes in the future and continue to deliver the reliable service our customers count on.” 

As a not-for-profit public agency, the approved rates are based on a detailed Cost-of-Service Study, which evaluated the true cost of delivering water and wastewater services in both the Riverside and Murrieta retail service areas. This legally required process ensures that rates are fair, transparent, and directly tied to the cost of providing service. 

For a typical residential customer receiving water and sewer service from Western Water, the first-year impact will be about $13.01 per month in Riverside and $10.01 per month in Murrieta, with similar increases expected over the next three years. These adjustments help ensure continued investment in system reliability while spreading costs in a manageable, predictable way. 

Western Water conducted a robust public outreach effort leading up to the rate decision to promote transparency and customer involvement. This included public Board Workshops, a series of public Customer Rate Information Sessions, direct mailers, social media engagement, bill inserts, email notifications, and one-on-one support offered by staff. These efforts offered customers multiple ways to learn about the proposed changes, ask questions, and provide input. Feedback from these outreach activities helped shape the final rate plan. 

Western Water continues to pursue state and federal grant funding, efficiency improvements, and operational cost controls to minimize customer impacts. Through responsible cost management, including securing $70 million in grant funding, saving $500,000 annually in energy costs, using smart monitoring tools, and leveraging property taxes to stabilize rates, Western Water remains committed to delivering high-quality water and wastewater services at the lowest possible cost, now and into the future. 

Additional information about the rate changes, including how they affect individual customers, can be found at WesternWaterCA.gov or by calling Customer Service at 951.571.7104.