A preliminary analysis presented in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2024 Water Affordability Needs Assessment Report indicates between 12.1 million and 19.2 million households throughout the United States lack affordable access to water services.
EPA’s Water Affordability Needs Assessment Report provides an estimate of the water affordability burden felt among households and utilities across the nation. The report summarizes decades of work by utilities, academics and associations that have been at the forefront of this research. It presents EPA’s analysis of the prevalence of water affordability challenges to both communities and utilities across the country and provides approaches to address water affordability concerns.
The analysis also found the estimated national cost of unaffordable water service bills ranges from $5.1 billion to $8.8 billion per year.
The 2024 report provides options to reduce unaffordable access to water services which fall into three broad categories:
- Establishing a Federal Water Assistance Program
- Increasing Education, Outreach and Knowledge Around Solutions to Address Affordability
- Increasing Ways to Reduce Water Infrastructure Capital and Operating Costs.
In producing the report, EPA gathered input from a wide range of stakeholders, including utilities, associations, academia, nonprofits, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, and the public.
In March and April 2024, EPA hosted two series of targeted Stakeholder Listening Sessions, each series consisting of three sessions. One series focused on gaining perspectives from water associations and utilities, while the other focused on feedback from nonprofit and advocacy communities. EPA invited participants from water utilities and associations, including rural advocacy associations, as well as select nonprofits, non-governmental organizations, and community-based organizations, to participate in these sessions.
In June 2024, EPA hosted a broader-scale public listening session to hear from communities, utilities, and advocacy groups who were not previously involved in the report’s development to share their experiences, perspectives, and ideas regarding water affordability challenges and recommendations.
Source: EPA
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