Glendale residents are drowning in rising costs — and now city officials want to make their bills even higher.

The city is proposing a 53% increase in water rates, sparking outrage among residents already struggling with California’s soaring cost of living.

Glendale residents are facing a potentially massive water bill shock, with city officials proposing a rate hike that could leave some households paying dramatically more just to keep the taps running.

The proposed increase would boost water rates by an average of 53% in the first year, prompting an angry backlash at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, where more than 40 residents spoke out against the plan, according to NBC.

Some warned the added expense could force them out of their homes.

“I can’t pay you, my neighbor can’t pay you, you need to understand that,” one resident told councilmembers.

“It is phenomenally cost prohibitive creating undue financial burden on the customers,” another speaker said.

Longtime Glendale resident Kirsten Winter said her water bill could double because of the neighborhood where she lives.

“I live in a different zone than down here at the base of Glendale where my bill will be 100 percent higher in January,” Winter said.

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Winter has been gathering signatures for a petition opposing the proposed increases, arguing residents were given too little time to organize after receiving notices in September.

“I’ve lived in the same house almost my entire life, and for the first time ever I think I may need to leave California,” she said.

Other residents warned the increases could push families and people on fixed incomes into financial trouble.

“The water rate increase will put the customers in a very precarious financial position that will inevitably make them unable to pay and eventually default on future payments or perhaps move out of the city,” one speaker said.

“You don’t have to squeeze people dry with a 53 percent increase, I shouldn’t have to tell you that these water increase are cruel, because you all should know that,” another resident said.

The proposed increases are part of a five-year plan by Glendale Water and Power to pay for aging infrastructure upgrades and rising operating costs, including the increasingly expensive water the city imports from outside the region.

The utility says it needs to invest roughly $100 million in capital improvements over the next five years to maintain its water system.

Much of the system is decades old, while Glendale relies on the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for roughly 60% to 70% of its water supply. The cost of imported water has risen about 34% since July 2022, according to the city.

The 53% figure represents the proposed first-year increase in overall water revenue, not necessarily a 53% jump for every customer’s individual bill. Actual increases would vary depending on water usage, meter size and where customers live.

The proposal also includes additional increases of 11% in 2028, 10% in 2029, another 10% in 2030 and 7% in 2031.

The City Council did not approve the plan Tuesday night, instead voting 4-0 to continue the public hearing for another week while officials examine additional correspondence and an alternative rate structure.

As of Nov. 9, the city had received 4,351 valid written protests, far short of the 22,738 needed to block the proposal under California’s Proposition 218 rules.

If eventually approved, the first round of new rates would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.