Monthly water bills for Philadelphia homeowners are set to increase in September, following a unanimous vote last week by the Philadelphia Water, Sewer and Storm Water Rate Board.

The hike, effective Sept. 1, was approved for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 in a vote Wednesday. The average customer’s monthly water, sewer, and stormwater bill will increase from $81.77 to $89.42 in 2026, and climb to $94.31 in 2027, resulting in a more than 15% increase over two years. The estimates are for typical residential customers who use 430 cubic feet of water per month.

The rate hikes are less drastic than those originally proposed by the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), which requested an 18% increase over the next two years. Board members lowered the proposed increase after hearing from the Public Advocate, the Philadelphia Large Users Group, members of the public and other stakeholders.

Critics of the proposed rates argued the department is overcharging homeowners and price hikes would exacerbate financial burdens on city residents. Lower-income residents will be particularly affected. The department said the increase was necessary for the city to maintain operations and fund infrastructure projects.

Community Legal Services attorney Robert Ballenger, whom the rate board selected as public advocate to represent residents, is satisfied with the decision. “I think that the compromise and the settlement reflects exactly what is contemplated in setting recent charges, which is a balancing of those competing interests,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Water Department said in an email that the rates will be codified ten days from the vote. The department will notify residents in correspondence to be sent in the mail.

Why the price hikes?

In February, the Water Department attributed this year’s rate increase to rising labor and equipment costs, capital projects, federal drinking water mandates, and the expansion of its water bill assistance programs. Department officials said the rate increase will help “replenish limited financial reserves that have reached critical levels due to COVID-19 impacts and other costs.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last year that providers must implement solutions to cleanse drinking water systems of toxic forever chemicals, known as PFAS, within the next several years, and remove lead pipes within the next decade. The city also needs to upgrade water treatment plants to reduce sewer overflows and the amount of ammonia emitted into waterways.

The rate hike comes as the city has embarked on the first phases of its 25-year, multi-billion-dollar “water revitalization” plan. The initiative aims to modernize Philadelphia’s aging drinking water infrastructure.

The city has hiked water and sewer rates every year since 2021. Last year, the monthly water bill for a typical residential customer increased by more than 12%.

Water prices have been increasing throughout the country as well to nearly twice the rate of overall consumer prices over the past year, according to an April 2025 report by the Bank of America Institute.

The rate hike raises a major affordability issue for Americans. Between 12.1 million and 19.2 million households throughout the U.S. can’t afford access to water services, according to the EPA. In Philadelphia, more than a fifth of the city’s 1.57 million residents live in poverty.

Several Chestnut Hill residents learned about the proposed rate hikes from the Local for the first time this week.

North Philadelphia resident Francis Corcoran isn’t happy about the news, especially with other costs rising because of inflation. Philadelphia residents also face public transit fare increases and higher parking rates in Center City.

“Everything just keeps going up,” he said. “Whatever the numbers are, I just deal with it. But it’s going in the wrong direction.”

Matt Bartlett, a Center City resident, accepts the new rates. He believes it’s natural for prices to increase and said the city needs money to take care of its aging infrastructure. Bartlett is also able to reduce his water bill because he owns a rain barrel and uses public transportation instead of a car, which needs water for washing.

“[The city officials] got a monopoly and I think they’re doing pretty well,” he said.

Expanded assistance

To address affordability challenges, the city is expanding access to its Tiered Assistance Program (TAP) and Senior Citizen Discount Program to help more residents pay water bills. But that means higher prices for customers not enrolled in the program.

A portion of the average water prices, called the TAP-R rate, helps recoup the costs of the TAP program, in which low-income customers pay a fixed rate based on income instead of usage. The proposed surcharge increased from $3.08 to $3.59 per thousand cubic feet for sewer prices.

Enrollment in the TAP program has increased to an estimated 60,000 households over the past few years, according to the city’s Department of Water Revenue.

“People who benefit from the Tiered Assistance Program would never be able to pay back the amount of debt that they would accumulate otherwise, and that promotes housing stability,” Ballenger said. “We have to sort of look at all of the different ways in which recent charges affect people and try to strike a balance.”

Ballenger said the TAP-R rate is reexamined by the board every year, meaning the overall water bill for fiscal year 2027 is subject to change.

The board also approved an increase in the maximum income to qualify for the Senior Citizen Discount Program from $38,800 to $42,100. Eligible participants receive a 25% discount on their total bill.

Residents can apply for both the TAP and Senior Discount programs by filling out a customer assistance application through the water department’s website. Applicants can also call the department and have the application delivered to their mailbox, or fill it out in person at a neighborhood energy center, Ballenger said.

Federal funding

Ballenger and several residents called on the city and board to obtain funding for capital work from alternate resources, rather than from customers.

The city currently receives loans to fund its water utilities from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PennVEST), which provides low-interest loans and grants for new construction or for improvements to publicly or privately-owned drinking water, storm water or sewage treatment facilities. Ballenger believes the Water Department could qualify for more federal funding and the city should explore more ways to receive assistance from PennVEST. He said PWD could receive more subsidies under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law if the money is used to support disadvantaged communities. His team is hoping to further develop a plan with PWD to become eligible for those benefits.

“We want the water department to have free money from other resources to help pay for some of these massive infrastructure investments,” he said. But the city may face obstacles in its demand for federal funding, because the Trump administration canceled programs funding major water infrastructure projects.

Ballenger said city officials will also convene early 2026 to discuss redesigning rates and charges for homeowners and small businesses versus commercial water users. He said the city overcharges homeowners and the latter should bear more of the costs. Starting in January, city officials will evaluate rate structure alternatives proposed by the public advocate, the Philadelphia Large Users Group, and other stakeholders.

Abby Weiss is an environmental reporter for the Local and a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at Abby@chestnuthilllocal.com.