Proposed New Rate for Investments

Posted on October 01, 2025

NewsWashington Water has filed a request with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) to increase water rates to recover $14.9 million in costs it has incurred to fund the improvement and maintenance of its local water systems as well as increased expenses over the last two years.

Some of the major investments made in Washington Water’s service areas include:

  • Installing 1,000 feet of water main in the Minterbrook system; 700 feet of main in Sunshine Acres; 2,500 feet of main in the Ranch Acres Shores system; 2,000 feet of main in Cedar Grove; 1,000 feet of main in Evergreen Shores; and 7,000 feet of main in the Southwood system to improve reliability and fire protection, and reduce potential leaks.
  • Installing treatment facilities to remove lead and copper in the Heritage Row system, arsenic in the Quistorff system, and iron and manganese in the Southwood system.
  • Conducting booster pump station upgrades in the Rosario, Cedar Crest, Artondale, Southwood, Olympic Mall, and Driftwood Valley systems.
  • Deploying Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition remote system monitoring in the Sunshine Acres, Rosario, Mirrormont, Palmer Lake, and Southwood systems.
  • Installing a new booster pumping facility to increase reliability and capacity in the Lost Creek zone of the Southwood system.

Additionally, the proposed water rate increase accounts for costs incurred due to higher operating expenses, such as cost increases in materials and equipment; depreciation expense due to the addition of newly installed facilities; and increased labor costs. It also accounts for costs incurred for testing for the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in accordance with new federal regulations, and other efforts related to PFAS regulatory compliance.

“We take our responsibility to provide our Washington Water customers safe, clean, reliable water at affordable rates seriously, and the upgrades we have made over the past two years are critical to continuing to deliver on this commitment,” said Marty Kropelnicki, Chairman and CEO. “At the same time, we work diligently to control expenses and keep water service affordable in the face of increasingly stringent federal and state water quality standards and rising costs.”

If approved as filed, new rates could become effective as early as Nov. 15, 2025.