Owned by the city of El Paso, governed by the appointed Public Service Board — no shareholders, but nine straight years of rate increases.
Estimates only — increases land differently by rate class and usage; the sourced numbers are in “On the record” below.
El Paso Water is what public ownership looks like: no profit margin, no fund or holding company, rates set at open board meetings in town. That hasn't made it cheap — an aging system, massive capital projects, and desert-water economics have driven rate increases nine years running.
In January 2026 the Public Service Board voted 5-2 to approve a $1.2 billion budget with a 12.2% rate increase — about $10 more a month on an average bill starting March 1 — with the mayor among the no votes. Weeks earlier, a 36-inch transmission main failure had left more than 100,000 residents with little or no water, sharpening the argument that the system needs the investment even as bills climb.
The next question is the same one hanging over the power grid: data centers. Meta's $10 billion project comes with major water demands in a desert city, and reporting has pressed EPWater on what that growth means for everyone else.
A transmission main failure near Girl Scout Lane and Transmountain drained reservoirs, left Northeast and Central El Paso dry or nearly dry, and kept a boil-water notice in effect after service returned. The full storyline is on the Headline Desk.
The board voted 5-2 for the $1.2 billion FY 2026-27 budget: about $10 more a month for an average residential customer starting March 1. Mayor Renard Johnson and board member Stefanie Block Uribarri voted no. In February the utility added expanded affordability options for lower-income customers.
Filings and reporting around Meta's $10 billion data center detailed its water, gas, and electricity demands on a desert city's systems — and what more data centers could mean for residents' utility bills.
Utility Watch is built on the same platform as this market’s archived public meetings — search the record for every time “El Paso Water” came up in council chambers.
🔎 Search the meeting archive for “El Paso Water”