Water bills are climbing, and the household is squealed cash strap

Water Cost A recent US report shows that certain cash-bound households are at risk of falling into “water debt,” causing them to surge across the United States.

According to data from Bank of America, utilities such as water and sewerage services, including garbage collection, have risen more than twice the overall consumer price over the past year, up 7.1% year-on-year in March.

There are around 50,000 regulated public water systems, also known as the community water system that provides year-round water in the United States, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Inflation increased as the pace slowed in March

Bank of America’s analysis shows that these water systems are exposed to pressure from a combination of growing populations, aging infrastructure and extreme weather patterns.

Today, the demand for water continues to grow as the average American consumes 82 gallons of water a day at home. This means that a family of four will use around 10,000 gallons in 30 days, according to the report.

Economist Taylor Bowley at Bank of America Institute told Fox Business rising capital and structural costs; Industry conditions for maintenance and treatment drive price increases that are being handed over to consumers.

According to the EPA, the US will need to spend more than $744 billion over the next 20 years to maintain, upgrade, upgrade and replace critical drinking and wastewater infrastructure.

The report also shows that consumers are disproportionately affected. Water prices have risen nationwide since 2022, but bills in the Mid-Atlantic, Pacific and Central West regions have risen faster than domestic rates, according to Bowley.

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In 2024, the Mid-Atlantic region saw the biggest increase, with prices rising 9.5% year-on-year.

The data also showed that High-income household bill It’s rising faster. A major factor is that these households usually have greater characteristics and, as a result, greater water usage. Climate change has also become a cost.

For example, “drought conditions are common throughout the third quarter of 2024 nationwide, and water usage by high-income households is weather sensitive given the large lawns to water and low cost sensitivity,” Bowley said.

However, water bills are particularly burdensome for low-income households, given that they pay more as a percentage of their overall income. The Federal Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) helps low-income households by providing funds to support water and wastewater billing.

The program has already served 1.7 million households in four years. However, if the federal program is not funded at the previous level, the report says more households could fall into “water debt.”

Your own water bill is usually a small component of the entire utility payment, but those payments are Consumer discretionary income, According to Bowley.

“If this continues to increase in an age where consumers are already feeling the pressure of living, that’s another factor in price increases, with the need being expensive and ultimately less money available to spend on other things,” Bowley said.

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Bowley said it was important to pay attention to the proposed deregulation initiative proposed by the EPA in March. According to Bowley, if they were implemented, “it could ease some of the financial pressures of local water operators,” but it is actually beneficial and to some extent a problem.