Hotter, drier weather in the coming decades could lead to significant increases in residential water bills in some parts of the United States.
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Be prepared to pay more for water. A lot more.
In some parts of the United States, primarily in the West, hotter, drier weather in the coming decades due to global warming could dramatically increase residential water bills, with some seeing monthly bills doubling, a new study released July 8 suggests.
In the study, published in the peer-reviewed British journal Nature Sustainability, researchers at Stanford University found that costly drought-resilience projects such as desalination and water reuse systems can put many low-income households into a severe water access crisis.
“Climate change is straining water supplies and forcing power companies to build expensive new infrastructure to maintain reliability,” study lead author Jennifer Sekker of Stanford University said in a statement.
“Climate adaptation and water availability are on a collision course,” said study co-author Sarah Fletcher, also of Stanford University.
What are the main points of your research?
Scarker told USA TODAY that climate change could cause water bills to double in some water-stressed cities because cities will need expensive new infrastructure investments. “This is a problem because many people already struggle to pay their water bills, and this will only get worse with climate change,” he said in an email to USA TODAY.
Currently, U.S. water infrastructure is primarily paid for by utilities through increased water rates, he said. “This puts water affordability and reliability at odds, when in fact both are needed.”
Why does water become more expensive when the climate is hotter and drier?
Skelker said if the weather becomes hotter and drier, urban water demand will likely increase while water supply will likely decrease. This may require utilities to invest in more alternative supply infrastructure, such as potable water reuse, desalination, and even water transfer infrastructure. This infrastructure is expensive, she says.
“Currently, the primary channel through which U.S. utilities are paying for this infrastructure is through water rate increases, which leads to higher water bills for households,” Scarker said.
Water bills are higher than inflation
The study found that the average cost of tap water in the United States has risen three times faster than inflation over the past 20 years, largely due to aging infrastructure and poor maintenance. What’s more, Skirker and her study co-authors say climate change is layering new, poorly understood pressures on top of existing pressures.
As an example, the study found that the median water bill for the poorest residents of one city (Santa Cruz, California) could rise from about $60 per month to $111 (in current dollars) under a drier climate scenario.
Incredibly, the study says more than 5% of households have to spend a third of their income on water, and are likely to be forced to make painful trade-offs with food, healthcare and other necessities.
Researchers looked at Santa Cruz
To understand how projected changes in temperature and precipitation over the next 20 years may affect regional water supplies and costs, the research team analyzed data from Santa Cruz, California. This small coastal city relies almost entirely on local surface water and one reservoir.
Is this problem unique to the Western United States, or is this a national problem?
“We are focusing on cities in California and the western United States as we identify other locations with similar characteristics to Santa Cruz, primarily because we believe this problem is likely to be worse in water-stressed areas,” Skurker said.
In fact, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, the West and Southwest are likely to remain the epicenter of the nation’s water problems, with some regions expected to experience longer and more intense droughts, reducing water available for cities, agriculture, and ecosystems. Additionally, federal climate assessments indicate that surface water supplies may decline in many watersheds in the West.
What is the solution to the problem?
“I think there are multiple solutions,” Scarker told USA TODAY via email. “One is further support, such as state and federal grants and infrastructure loan programs. The other is a permanent low-income household water assistance program. The federal government launched this in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, but this program has since expired.”
“Ensuring access to reliable water for all will require intervention at the state and federal level, far beyond what individual utilities can do on their own,” study co-author Fletcher said in a statement.
Doyle Rice is a national correspondent for USA TODAY, focusing on weather and climate.
