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Beginning Aug. 4, Tucson Water customers in unincorporated areas of Pima County will see their rates boosted by about 19%, a little more than $6 per month more than a typical household in cities or towns.

The new rate structure passed by a 5-1 vote Tuesday night. Councilman Kevin Dahl was the sole no-vote. Council member Lane Santa Cruz was absent.

The council also passed small rate increases in the conservation fee for all Tucson Water customers, as well as a small increase in the “Green Stormwater Infrastructure� for Tucson Water customers within city limits. Those increases will also be effective Aug. 4. Still, the average homeowner living in Tucson, Marana and other incorporated cities who are Tucson Water customers will see their bills drop an average of about $2 a month, officials said.

Tucson Water previously said it costs more to serve unincorporated areas because they need more pipes and other infrastructure per unit of water sold.

In May, Pima County Supervisor and Board Chair Rex Scott proposed a resolution to oppose the rate plan, but it failed. Scott said during Tuesday night’s public hearing that the rate plan would be “unprecedented.� That’s because even though some municipality-owned utilities around the state charge customers living outside city limits higher rates, a third of Tucson Water ratepayers live in unincorporated areas.

That is one reason the idea of differential rates has proven controversial in the past. A different version of the rate structure was approved in 2021, but was tossed out in court in 2023.

“The ratepayers in the unincorporated county have been referred to as ‘non-owners’ of the utility because they live outside the boundaries of the city. I do not feel that that is a term that should be applied to a third of the utility’s ratepayers, who have helped it to grow and prosper for decades,� Scott told the council. “I value the county’s relationship with the city ... but adopting this proposal would be unfair to a sizable part of Tucson Water’s customers.�