Water affordability affects low-income US communities

Millions of people in the United States, especially in poor and minority communities, are at risk of losing access to affordable drinking water as the costs of upgrading aging infrastructure and droughts send water prices soaring across many cities.

"Water rates have been increasing over the last 20 years, if not longer," Casey Wichman, an economist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, told China Daily.

In research conducted with economist Diego Cardoso from Purdue University in 2020, Wichman noted that the cost of water services in the US is rising three times faster than inflation. In addition, water infrastructure will require an investment of more than $1 trillion over the next 20 to 25 years.

Almost 14 percent of households have water and sewer expenditures that were greater than 4.5 percent of their annual household incomes. For the poorest households, water bills made up an average 8.1 percent of their annual incomes, the study found.

Widening inequality

Wichman said the real culprit to the water affordability issue is the "widening income inequality and stagnant income growth for many Americans".

Low-income and black residents are disproportionately affected by rising water bills, Wichman said, noting "a significant positive relationship between water affordability concerns and the proportion of black households within a community even after controlling for poverty levels".

The water affordability crisis comes at a time when many parts of the country are experiencing unprecedented heat waves, which greatly affect the quality and quantity of fresh water. Extremely dry conditions result in drought and increased water demand. To make up for the increasing water consumption and the costs of maintaining aging infrastructure of water systems, rates are rising.

Experts are concerned that the higher price rates are taking a toll on those in poor and minority neighborhoods, many of whom are already struggling with high energy bills and economic challenges imposed by the current high inflation rate.

Water affordability is ultimately an income inequality issue, Wichman said. Besides lower-income communities, which are more likely to face affordability problems, poorer families in wealthy cities could also feel the burden of rising water prices.

Mary Grant, water justice advocate from nonprofit Food and Water Watch, said water and sewer rates had jumped about 40 percent from 2008 to 2014.

Citing a 2017 study from Michigan State University, Grant said nearly 12 percent of households in the US find water bills unaffordable. If water prices continue rising at projected rates, nearly 36 percent of households would be unable to afford water within five years, she said.