Water and wastewater fees are set to rise.
The Public Service Board of El Paso voted 5-2 Wednesday, Jan. 14, to approve a proposed 12.2% rate increase from El Paso Water.
Board Chairman Bryan Morris was joined by board members Anna Gitter, Charlie Intebi, Hector Ocaranza and Lane Gaddy in approving the rate hike. Mayor Renard Johnson and board member Stefanie Block Uribarri voted against.
Community members listen to public comments before the El Paso Public Service Board votes on a proposed water rate increase on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in El Paso, Texas.
“With many of the residents facing financial strain right now, I cannot support a double-digit rate increase,” Johnson said after voting against the rate hike. “There’s health care costs that are rising, there’s grocery costs that are rising, we’re facing a gas increase, we’re facing an electric increase and now a water increase. So, affordability has to be part of responsible policymaking.”
The increase will raise the average monthly bill by $9.99. Low monthly users will see an increase of $5.81 per month, and very-low monthly users will see an increase of $4.07 per month.
El Paso Water CEO John Balliew asserted that the main driver of the increase in infrastructure investment is to keep the city’s water system running.
“We have seen through this break in Northeast that we need to do an ongoing investment in infrastructure to keep the system running properly,” he said. “We need to make sure that we are able to provide services to the customer, that we are able to provide water … to the customer.”
The new rates are set to take effect when El Paso Water’s next fiscal year begins on March 1.
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Public raises opposition to rate hike
Scores of residents voiced their opposition to the water rate hike, with one woman even being dragged from the meeting by security after shouting at board members.
Many called into question why residents are being asked to pay more while larger, commercial and industrial customers — such as the impending Meta data center — are not seeing rate hikes.
“Water is life,” said Veronica Carbajal, an organizer with activist group Sembrando Esperanza, which submitted 412 written comments in opposition to the increase. “We pay as residents, but we’re also paying it forward.”
Veronica Carbajal, seen here during an event in Duranguito in February 2023, was among a number of speakers who turned out to oppose the Public Service Board’s vote to approve an increase in water rates. Carbajal is an organizer with Sembrando Esperanza, an activist group that has vocally opposed the rate hike.
“It is not time for industrial user to pay more than their fair share,” she added. “We’re asking that as a publicly-owned utility you recognize your money is our money.”
Mary Woodruff noted the difficult situation retired and vulnerable ratepayers face, contrasted with the salary for Balliew, which is nearly $400,000 with salary, retirement contribution and vehicle allowance.
“Compared to our salaries, our cost of living, people are just fed up,” she said. “We are at our wits’ end.”
“The people have been conserving water since 1991 and more cuts and more cuts,” Woodruff added. “We don’t even have lawns anymore. We’ve done our part.”
Many others submitted written comments, likewise largely focused on the immense water use by industrial and commercial users.
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Margaret Gannon wrote, “How are you making sure that there won’t be increased water restrictions for citizens due to data centers?”
“Please do your best to not let data centers negatively impact El Paso citizens,” wrote Albert Guthrie. “We are low in water and we don’t want corporate greed to impact citizens. Please look out for citizens and water conservation.”
In the end, the vast opposition carried little water with the members of the Public Service Board.
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Residents object as board votes for 12.2% El Paso Water increase