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This story in the Guardian about water bills and affordability in US cities is getting attention. Because they used data that I collected as the basis for their story, I need to point out some problems https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/23/full-report-read-in-depth-water-poverty-investigation
One: water rates and water bills are different things. Bills are a combination of rates and water use. High rates do not mean high bills if usage is low. Conversely, low rates can still lead to high bills if usage is high.
I collect water rate data annually in 30 cities at three usage levels for a family of four: 50 gal/person/day (6,000gal/month), 100 gallons (12,000gal/month), and 150 gallons (18,000gal/month). Consider these scenarios average, high, extremely high https://www.circleofblue.org/2019/world/2019-price-of-water/
The Guardian selected 10 of those 30 cities and added two others. They then converted rates data into an estimated bill for each Census tract, basing their calculation on household size. The usage level they chose was 100 gallons per person per day. This choice is important
When I started collecting rates data in 2010, 100 gallons per person per day was roughly the national average household consumption, per USGS. It has fallen since then, now about 83 gallons nationally. In cities, it's often much lower. https://www.circleofblue.org/2017/world/u-s-household-water-use-continues-decline/
Though generally lower in cities, complicating factors are: low-income households might have more people per home and low-income households could have old plumbing that leaks and drives up water use
Water use matters because of how water rates are structured. Many cities have adopted an "increasing block rate," which means price per unit goes up the more you use.
Take Austin, for example, which the Guardian called out for having the highest increase...
Take Austin, for example, which the Guardian called out for having the highest increase...
If you look at the 100-gallon level, which is what the Guardian chose, rates went up 154% from 2010-18. But at the 50-gallon level, the increase was only 95%. Still large, but not as eye-popping. Why is this?
Austin added a surcharge in 2013 based on monthly water use. High users paid more. The difference between the 50-gallon level and 100-gallon level back then wasn't huge: about $8 a month. That gap has widened. Last year it was $26 a month. Again: bills=rate + use
The point is that water rates, bills, and affordability are tricky terrain. Assumptions and nuance matter. There is a vigorous debate, in both academia and utility board rooms, about how to define and measure these terms. https://www.circleofblue.org/2017/water-management/comes-water-service-expensive-expensive/
But without a doubt, water rates are rising in the United States faster than incomes and affordability is worsening. Read more about it https://www.circleofblue.org/affordability/
