Some Pasco residents will have higher monthly irrigation bills starting in April 2025. New customers will pay a one-time connection fee.
McClatchy File
Pasco, WA
Starting this spring, some Pasco residents and businesses will see their monthly irrigation bills rise. New users also will need to shell out up to $1,000 for a one-time connection fee.
Annual rates would increase by around 80% from 2025-30, and apply to all residential, commercial and industrial utility customers using the city-owned irrigation system.
This year, irrigation rates will jump by about 18%. Pasco last increased irrigation rates by 3% per year from 2018-22.
Both the increased rates and the new connection fee are set to take affect at the beginning of the 2025 irrigation season. The system normally operates from April to October.
Revenue from the rate increases and fee will cover the city’s costs to maintain, improve and expand its aging system.
City staff says the system needs close to $14 million in repairs and updates to keep pace with Pasco’s expected growth in the next several years.
The Pasco City Council approved the changes and also established a new low-income senior discount for irrigation water at a recent meeting.
Annual rate changes
After considering two options, the council decided on a lower maximum connection fee for new users, combined with higher rate increases for existing customers. The vote was 6-1 with Councilwoman Blanche Barajas opposed.
The city shared a cost breakdown of how the new rates would impact a single-family home’s current annual irrigation bill of $221.55.
2025: $260.88 (17.75% increase)
2026: $307.18 (17.75% increase)
2027: $361.70 (17.75% increase)
2028: $372.56 (3% increase)
2029: $383.73 (3% increase)
2030: $395.24 (3% increase)
Pasco’s annual irrigation rates remain on the lowest competitive end compared to residential rates of nearby cities and counties.
For example, the Kennewick Irrigation District charges a base rate of $715 for a single-family home with one acre or less of irrigated land.
The low-income senior discount would be available to customers who are 62 or older, have a household annual income below the federal poverty level and meet other requirements set by the city.
About 60 current customers already receive discounts on their water and sewer utilities and would be eligible for discounted irrigation rates, according to the city.
New fee
The one-time fee of up to $1,000 would be paid by each new user joining Pasco’s system. It would only be applied to new lots.
Public Works Director Maria Serra previously told the Tri-City Herald that if someone buys a new home in Pasco, it would be up to the developer to decide whether to pay the fee upfront and pass the cost on to the resident, or charge differently.
Pasco’s irrigation utility system serves about 9,500 Pasco residents. It provides irrigation water to a limited area, mainly West Pasco. City of Pasco
About the system
The PVC pipe network for Pasco’s irrigation system was purchased from a farmer in 2002 and is reaching its end of life.
The system serves about 9,500 Pasco residents and is separate from the city’s drinking water system. It provides irrigation water to a limited area, mainly West Pasco — the system does not serve east of Road 36 or south of a canal owned by Franklin County Irrigation District (FCID).
Much of East Pasco is irrigated with potable water and FCID provides irrigation to users on the south end of the city.
The city’s irrigation water is sourced from 11 wells and the Columbia River through one pump station. The water is used to grow crops and water lawns and gardens during spring and summer.
Planned improvements to the city’s system include removing and replacing existing pipes, extending the irrigation main in the Broadmoor area, building a new pump station that will increase river water intake, and upgrading wells or drilling new wells to access more water.
City officials said the upgrades would fix low irrigation pressure that some customers experience, especially during the summer when there is high usage across the city.
This story was originally published March 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
