Metropolitan Water District (Photo – watereducation.org)
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Board of Directors voted unanimously today to adopt a two‑year budget aimed at strengthening the region’s aging water infrastructure and advancing a major recycled water initiative designed to bolster long‑term supply reliability.
By News Desk
The operating budget totals $2.3 billion for 2026–27 and $2.4 billion for 2027–28, and includes 6.2% overall rate increases scheduled for Jan. 1, 2027, and Jan. 1, 2028, for the district’s 26 member agencies. A modest rise in the district’s voter‑approved special property tax is also anticipated—about $12 more per year for an average‑value home.
A central feature of the plan is a significant expansion of Metropolitan’s Capital Investment Plan, which grows by more than $300 million to a total of $1.025 billion. The additional funding targets a backlog of critical rehabilitation projects across the district’s nearly century‑old treatment and delivery systems, as well as continued planning and design for the Pure Water Southern California recycled water program.
“Parts of our system are nearly 100 years old… We cannot keep kicking the can down the road,” said Board Chair Adán Ortega, Jr. He emphasized that the budget makes essential investments to prevent high‑risk failures and to advance Pure Water’s first stage, which is designed to produce 45 million gallons per day of purified wastewater, with potential for future expansion.
The board will evaluate construction options for Pure Water later this year as part of its Climate Adaptation Master Plan for Water, which also considers new local supplies, storage, conservation, and conveyance strategies.
General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh said the budget positions Southern California to better withstand climate‑driven water challenges. “While we are reinvesting in the reliability of our existing water delivery system, we are also taking important steps to ensure the region has access to water supplies amid a changing climate,” he noted.
The budget reflects more than a year of public workshops, field visits, and discussions about Metropolitan’s business model. Recent board actions have shifted more treated‑water costs to fixed charges and adopted a more stable methodology for projecting water sales.
Assistant General Manager and CFO Katano Kasaine said the final plan “reflects careful analysis and understanding of what it takes to run a system of this scale responsibly.”
To support expanded maintenance and reduce reliance on overtime and consultants, the budget adds 79 new positions, bringing the workforce to 2,054 over two years. It also allocates $30.5 million annually for conservation programs and continued support for local supply development through the Local Resources Program.
In a cost‑saving move, the board directed staff to conduct a market study to sell two of the four islands the district owns in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta.
Leave a Reply