Airway Heights residents and businesses can expect to see an increase in their monthly water rates in 2026 and beyond after the City Council approved a four-year rate hike plan at their final meeting in 2025.
At its Dec. 15 meeting, the council voted 5-1 to approve a 15% annual increase in base water rates, beginning in 2026 and running through 2029. The increase includes a 9% increase recommended by a 2024 water rate study as well as an additional 6% Public Works Department officials say is needed to stave off a potential $700,000 shortfall between water revenue and operating expenses and reserves by 2030.
Residential users, with the exception of low-income, apartment complex and mobile/manufactured park users, will see monthly rates increase from $19.51 to $22,55 in 2026. Those will increase again to $24.58 in 2027, $26.79 in 2028 and $29.20 in 2029.
Low-income residents who meet specific city requirements will see their rates increase from $9.81 to $11.28 in 2026 and about 15% thereafter to $14.62 in 2029. Non-residential customers, including apartment complex owners and mobile/manufactured home parks, rates will increase on a per meter diameter size basis with eight of the nine sizes of meters impacted.
These range from an increase for a 1-inch diameter meter from $25.33 to $29.13 in 2026 to a 10-inch diameter meter increasing from $667.84 in 2025 to $768.02 in 2026. Reclaimed water users will also see the 15% increase.
Additionally, all users will see a 15% increase in their volume rate per 1,000 gallons consumed. Users in Block 1 (0 – 7,000 gallons) will increase from $2.44 to $2.81, Block 2 (7,000 – 18,000 gallons) from $2.96 to $3.40 and Block 3 (above 18,000 gallons) from $3.55 to $4.08.
The City Council previously approved implementing the 9% rate increase in 2024 for 2025 based on the water study. An additional study in 2025 indicated the additional 6% increase was necessary after several factors from the 2024 study failed to occur.
The first was restarting city Wells 1 and 4 — idled since 2017 by the discovery of contamination by firefighting chemicals from Fairchild Air Force Base and Spokane International Airport — through installation of granular active carbon filters (GAC). Bringing the wells back online could have resulted in the city not having to purchase about 300 million gallons of water annually from the city of Spokane beginning in 2026.
“The complexities of the groundwater movement and well testing has required additional assessment before filters will be placed,” Airway Heights Public Works Director Katherine Miller wrote in a summary to council. “This on-going assessment will delay future GAC filter placement in the near term.”
A second factor was a change in the 2024 study’s growth rate calculations. The study authors assumed a city growth rate of 4.5%, but the actual rate has been closer to 2.25% annually.
The 2025 study indicates that while the 15% increase will not fully cover these impacts, it is a start. Miller told the council at the Dec. 15 meeting they are continuing to evaluate water usage and rates, and that additional study recommendations on enacting different rate structures for different users, particularly commercial and industrial, will be brought to council sometime in January or February for consideration.
“That will go in through ’27 and beyond rates in terms of what we’re looking at,” she said.
Councilman Davin Perry was the only member voting against the rate increases. Perry has advocated for a more tiered approach to water rate charges.
City looks for additional 2026 budget savings
At the council’s Jan. 12 study session, city staff presented an outline of steps they are engaging in to find additional cost savings in the approved 2026 budget. The city is looking for additional savings in order to help restore depleted fund reserves used to balance past budgets along with working more efficiently within leaner departmental budgets — focusing on going beyond just budget cuts to create “sustainable, strategic improvements that align with goals and objectives.”
Department directors, city staff and council members will be meeting in the first quarter of 2026 to find ways to “optimize resources” such as labor and capital, “eliminate waste” through identifying and removing redundancy, excess inventory and unneeded spending and “improving efficiency” through streamline processes and use of technology.
Some of the initiatives under consideration include reevaluating supplier and service contracts to get better terms, consolidate vendors and switch to “in-house” resources. Technology upgrades, energy consumption reduction or utilization of “green practices” to cut utility costs and workforce efficiency through cross-training of employees are also under consideration.
At the Dec. 15 meeting, City Manager Albert Tripp said they have established a goal of finding $1.4 million in savings through this process, and have identified several areas already.
“We’ve had a tremendous amount of success to identify opportunities to solve for that,” he said.
Council approves new co-living ordinances
At the Dec. 15 meeting, the City Council unanimously approved adoption of five ordinances making amendments to the city’s Municipal Code establishing, defining and regulating co-living housing in Airway Heights. The amendments were required by state law passed in 2024 requiring cities and counties planning through the Growth Management Act to allow for such housing arrangements.
Co-living housing is defined by state law as “a residential development with sleeping units that are independently rented and lockable and provide living and sleeping space, and residents share kitchen facilities with other sleeping units in the building.” The ordinances adopted by the council define what is co-living, allow for its inclusion in the multifamily residential (MFR) zone, establish parking requirements, allow for its inclusion in commercial zones where it is part of a mixed-use development and provide for reduced sewer connection fee requirements where it is utilized.
Airway Heights associate planner Zachary Becker told council there are a lot of benefits to co-living, but mainly that its inclusion in city zoning allows another option for providing low-income housing. The ordinances were developed through the standard public process and received Planning Commission recommendations.
“We’re not providing anything beyond what is required by the state,” Becker added.
Malet, Bynaker honored
At the Dec. 15 meeting, council and city staff honored a pair of City Council members retiring at the end of 2025: Hank Bynaker and Dave Malet.
Bynaker was appointed to fill Council Position 1 in 2022. During his tenure has focused on water issues including finding a new, uncontaminated water source, public safety and security along with economic development. He served on the Comprehensive Plan and Collective Bargaining ad hoc committees as well as the city’s representative to the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, Spokane Transit Authority Board of Directors and Spokane Transit Monitoring and External Relations Committee.
Malet was first elected to Airway Heights City Council Position 4 in 2011. He has played key roles in developing the city’s new public safety campus, has been a strong supporter of local businesses and proponent of continued infrastructure development in the city’s southern industrial zone. Four new members will join council in 2026: Bill Campbell, Jesse Camacho, Keri Bro and Casandra Quesnell.
