If Maricopa residents don’t want their water bills to rise by nearly 20%, they’ll get one final opportunity to speak up at the Arizona Corporation Commission’s last public hearing on Dec. 15.

Global Water Resources, the for-profit parent company of Santa Cruz Water Company and Palo Verde Utilities, is seeking a 19.7% increase for water and an 8% increase for wastewater. The Maricopa-based company, which serves roughly 80,000 residents, filed for new permanent rates in March.

In a rare twist, state regulatory staff say Maricopa’s rates should decrease, not increase.

Dozens of residents have already submitted formal objections to the ACC, describing GWR’s prices as excessive and unpredictable. Many cite high base fees, unexplained charges and monthly bills that regularly exceed $100.

In an Oct. 14 complaint, Francisco Javier Tanori Rodriguez wrote that GWR’s service is “very expensive” and costs more than utilities in neighboring cities. Another resident, Remington Corrales, filed a Nov. 9 complaint accusing GWR of pushing increases “so you can line your pockets with more money.”

Attached bills from some customers showed monthly water charges climbing above $140 for ordinary household use, and multiple residents characterized the pricing as “highway robbery.”

Despite the outcry, not a single resident attended the ACC’s Oct. 8 public hearing on the rate increase. That meeting lasted just 16 minutes and included only GWR representatives.

“It doesn’t matter,” wrote Erik Struss in an online forum after that meeting. “The rate increase is going to happen no matter what.”

The absence has fueled concerns that public frustration may not translate into public participation, something local advocates are now trying to change.

Rain World Environmental Consultants, a long-standing environmental and safety firm based in Maricopa, is urging residents to show up for the December hearing. The group notes that neither the City of Maricopa nor GWR mentioned a recently awarded $6.5 million federal grant during the October meeting.

RWEC also highlighted that the City of Maricopa receives a 3% share of GWR’s gross revenue through a licensing agreement, a detail critics argue creates a conflict of interest.

In sharply contrasting testimony filed last month, the ACC’s Utilities Division Staff recommended that customer bills go down, not up. Their proposal would drop typical residential water bills from $35.73 to $32.52, a decrease of about 9%. Wastewater bills would drop from an average $70.07 to $53.30.

Staff also urged the ACC to maintain current service charges and warned that GWR’s proposed tiered pricing structure would drive steep increases for many average-use residents, in some cases, as high as 30%.

The Residential Utility Consumer Office similarly opposed the increases and confirmed that GWR has withdrawn its request for a cost-of-service adjustment, which would have allowed automatic annual rate hikes without a full rate case.

GWR, meanwhile, argues that investments and growth justify higher rates.

Last month, company representatives presented their case to leaders of the Senita homeowners association, citing a long list of improvements to justify the increase: well water upgrades, improvements to the wastewater campus, an expansion of reclaimed water programs and landscaping rebate programs that encourage drought-tolerant yards. According to GWR’s internal timeline, the ACC is expected to issue a recommended order in early 2026, with a final decision in May and new rates taking effect in June.

The final ACC public hearing on the GWR rate case is scheduled for Dec. 15 at 10 a.m. in the commission’s hearing room at 1200 W. Washington St. in Phoenix.

Residents can attend in person, participate by phone or submit written comments in advance through the ACC docket.

RWEC is encouraging residents to be specific and clear in their testimony, advising them to explain whether they believe the increase is just, equitable and reasonable for all parties. 

GWR, meanwhile, argues that investments and growth justify higher rates. In a statement to InMaricopa yesterday, General Manager Jon Corwin said GWR’s proposal is “based on expenses and investments to provide service to customers.” Corwin noted that current rates rely on 2019 cost levels while the request reflects 2024 costs, an inflationary period of roughly 26%, which GWR emphasized is “substantially more than the increase we have requested.”

GWR also pointed to rapid population growth in Maricopa as a driver of continued infrastructure spending. According to Corwin, the utility has invested “approximately $50 million in the community since 2019,” including new and replacement infrastructure. Even accounting for those pressures, GWR says the “proposed median bill increase for a residential customer using 5,500 gallons per month is only about 13%, significantly less than inflation during the same period.”