Revealed: millions of Americans can't afford water as bills rise 80% in a decade

[FM123]

(The Guardian) Millions of ordinary Americans are facing rising and unaffordable bills for running water, and risk being disconnected or losing their homes if they cannot pay, a landmark Guardian investigation has found.

Exclusive analysis of 12 US cities shows the combined price of water and sewage increased by an average of 80% between 2010 and 2018, with more than two-fifths of residents in some cities living in neighbourhoods with unaffordable bills.

In the first nationwide research of its kind, our findings reveal the painful impact of America’s expanding water poverty crisis as aging infrastructure, environmental clean-ups, changing demographics and the climate emergency fuel exponential price hikes in almost every corner of the US.

America’s growing water affordability crisis comes as the Covid-19 pandemic underlines the importance of access to clean water. The research shows that rising bills are not just hurting the poorest but also, increasingly, working Americans.

“More people are in trouble, and the poorest of the poor are in big trouble,” said Roger Colton, a leading utilities analyst, who was commissioned by the Guardian to analyse water poverty. “The data shows that we’ve got an affordability problem in an overwhelming number of cities nationwide that didn’t exist a decade ago, or even two or three years ago in some cities.”

(Long article, but worth the read)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/23/millions-of-americans-cant-afford-water-bills-rise

[redstateblues]

1. My water bill for a small house just went from $60 to $100. Supposedly because

of the tornados that ripped through our city last spring

[essme]

3. Private or public utilities?

nt

[essme]

2. NC has a huge problem- private water companies

We have a private water company (parent company is in Canada) that came in a decade or so ago, and started getting contracts in small towns. The town managers, and board members ate it up-- Private enterprise! and are now faced with ridiculous bills that are about 3 times what the public utilities cost.

We are dealing with one right now up in the mountains. If anyone has ever been to small towns in NC, SC and GA-- you know that people are either working class professionals (colleges, hospitals, local government, veterinarians etc) second home owners that were able to afford a vacation home, small business owners (restaurants that cater to tourists) or dirt poor people that are still living on farms and have tomato stands.

I have already put in a complaint with the state water commission, and thanks to being a school librarian, I have a few weeks to make them miserable.

[diva77]

4. K&R for exposure

[jimfields33]

5. Florida has ridiculously high water bills

And yet sells our water to bottling companies. So frustrating!!!!!

[MissB]

6. I pay about $50/month for water

Pretty much regardless of use. Not a flat fee, just that the pricing structure has pretty wide bands. I’m in the minimum use part of that scale.

My sewer bill, on the other hand, is totally disconnected from my water use. Instead, it’s tied to my property size and whether I have a pool or not (I don’t have a pool). I pay it annually as a part of my property taxes.

So... not much I can do to hold costs down.