Altadena utility customers to see water rate increases in 2026, amid fire recovery

More than a year on from the devastation of the Eaton fire, some Altadena utility customers will be seeing changes to their water and power bills this year.

Las Flores, Lincoln Avenue and Rubio Cañon Land and Water Association are the three mutual water companies that service Altadena and whose customers are shareholders of the companies.

Pasadena Water and Power serves a portion of the town and Kinneloa Irrigation District is a special district for the Kinneloa Mesa neighborhood.

Also see: Larry Wilson: For tiny Altadena water companies, something’s got to give

All three mutuals suffered various levels of damage to its infrastructure in the Eaton fire.

At a Rubio Cañon shareholder meeting last week, officials presented a potential average rate increase of 11% with the company also considering a fire recovery fee of either $30, $20 or $10 a month. No final decisions have been made by the Board of Directors.

Wilberta Richardson’s Altadena home survived the Eaton fire. While she is living away from Altadena, she has continued to pay her water bill to irrigate landscaping on her property. Richardson attended the meeting as a shareholder of Rubio Cañon and is president of Altadena NAACP.

“There was not so much questioning about the rate increase … Whatever, it is I think people are OK, but the recovery fee was a no-go,” Richardson said.

Las Flores, the smallest of the mutual companies, said it would be setting new rates in 2026, but did not share the details. An additional $50 fee that would run for 60 months is under review, according to General Manager William Kimberling, but has not been approved.

“We are working our 2026 budget and will consider a few options that will work for all of us,” Kimberling said in an email.

Lincoln Avenue has approved a rate increase, which customers will see in the March bill. The company discussed adding an additional fee, but opted against approval. The board opted to withdraw from reserves, General Manager Jennifer Betancourt Torres said.

In a letter to shareholders last month, Lincoln Avenue said while it deferred its rate increase in 2025, its water suppliers, Foothill Municipal Water District and Metropolitan Water District, did not.

“In addition to the 8% rate increase authorized for 2025, which was deferred, rates for all tiers will be increased 10%,” the letter read. “The combined increase is necessary to support the continued operation and reliability of the water system.”

In 2024, Pasadena City Council approved annual rate adjustments for all customers effective each July 1 through July 1, 2028. The rate adjustments will provide additional revenue of $42 million over a five-year period.

Combined, the three mutuals serve more than 25,000 residents. A solution floated to solve the new financial and infrastructure challenges is to have the three companies consolidate into one company.

However, as of yet, there is not consensus among the mutuals about whether that is the best approach to take.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger on Friday reiterated her position that the three mutual companies’ best option would be to consolidate.

“I believe given what happened in Altadena we need to revisit, across the board, all of our municipal water districts in terms of whether they’re ready for what’s on the horizon, God forbid something like what happened in Altadena,” Barger said.

She described this as an opportunity for the mutual companies to come together and work with Los Angeles County to leverage both federal and state capital to build back a system that meets the needs of Altadena residents.

Shareholders now faced with the potential for higher rates as a result of the fire, Barger said, are asking if there’s another path.

“I have yet to hear from anyone that says that they’re not open to consolidation,” Barger said.

The realities of the the rebuild, Barger said, which includes replacing hydrants and requiring the installation of sprinklers on rebuild projects will require an expensive infrastructure overhaul to meets those needs.

Barger is anxious to get the Altadena water situation settled to be able to do a “one and done” when it comes to undergrounding utilities and trenching. However, the county is unable to force the companies to move forward with consolidation.

“I would hope that we could get a decision made so that we can begin that process,” Barger said.