Photo Credit: Maui County
Maui residents across the island share frustrations on multiple social media platforms about improper water billing increases and no answers in sight.
Hawaii is known for its high cost of living with grocery prices through the roof, rent increasing more every day, and a new issue rising to the surface: high water billing. In April of 2025, Hawai’i. Water Service Co. Inc., informed the state Public Utilities Commission that it intends to raise water prices in order to meet the increased operating costs. Many residents have felt increases have not been adding up with the amount of water they’ve been using.
Residents say the issue goes beyond simple overcharges. Some argue the county’s tiered pricing system, combined with inconsistent billing cycles, may be structurally inflating bills.
“Our water bill went from $200–$300 a month to $600–$800 a month with a new meter — and we don’t have any leaks,” said Rick Lewis, a Maui resident.
Lewis said tiered pricing and billing periods of up to 35 days can result in higher charges. “They should bill for a consistent number of days each month,” he said.
With Lewis’s incident not being an isolated one, there could be many reasons why locals are experiencing a higher water rate, problems with outdated equipment, meter reading errors, or even administrative oversight. News about slight increases have become common knowledge, but double, even triple spikes in billing wasn’t what residents were expecting.
Photo Credit: Governor Josh Green, M.D.
On Feb. 2, a public hearing was held by the Hawai’i Public Utilities commission on Hawaii Water Service Company Inc.’s request for a rate increase for its Kapalua Water and Wastewater Divisions. A press release was posted on Governor Josh Green’s website following the meeting earlier this month.
The key talking points of the meeting were made available to the public in a press release and stated below as seen on the official website of Governor Josh Green:
“Hawaii Water says its operating expenses have increased since it last raised rates 16 years ago and that it has made significant capital improvements to its water and sewer systems. Hawaii Water is asking the commission to approve the following:
A total revenue increase of $2.22 million, or a 59% increase over revenues at current effective rates, including a 7.46% rate of return;
A Power Cost Charge pass-through that would allow the company to directly pass on its power costs to customers;
A Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tariff credit to refund customers’ over-collected revenues from 2021-2025; and
A Watershed Purchase Rider that would allow the company to directly pass on to customers the cost of water it purchases from the Maui Land and Pineapple watershed.”
This is ongoing discussion and Hawaii Water has an application in process for requests as seen on the Public Utilities Commission's official website as of Nov. 12, 2025.
It was stated in the press release that “This hearing is limited to Hawaii Water’s request for a rate increase. It does not address the ongoing broader dispute about water management in the Kapalua region of West Maui. The commission previously stated that it does not have the legal authority to make determinations about water allocation and priority uses of water.”
Answers somehow still seem to be evaded by many different parties regarding water billing. Individuals are encouraged to continue using their voices, share their stories and bring attention to the issue at hand. We as a unified body are the only way change is possible. Sharing your opinions in-person at city council meetings or online petitions such as this Change petition started to seek answers about incorrect water billing.
This isn’t just an issue being experienced by locals in Hawai’i, other places in the country, such as Gilbert, AZ, are experiencing huge increases in water billing throughout the town. The only way to solve this issue is to use your voice; local voices are what will help get to the bottom of this issue that affects our residents. How can you use yours to make a difference?
To add to or correct any information in this report, please contact me at allyson.w@lead4earth.org and leave a comment below with your thoughts.
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