Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Report: Water Prices Rise Sharply Across America; Double and Triple in Some Locales

It’s often overlooked and taken for granted, but it’s the most essential of all human resources.

Water.

We’re paying 75% more for it today than we were in the year 2000.

According to a recent study by USA Today, which looked at 100 large municipalities across the country, the price increases over the last decade are so significant that many Americans are having to cut other expenses just to keep up:

    …the cost of this necessity of life has outpaced the percentage increases of some of these other utilities, carving a larger slice of household budgets in the process.

    “I don’t know how they expect people to keep paying more for water with the cost of gas and day care and everything else going up,” complains Jacquelyn Moncrief, 60, a Philadelphia homeowner who says the price hikes would force her to make food-or-water decisions. She gathered signatures on a petition opposing a proposed water rate increase in her city this year.

    USA Today’s study of residential water rates over the past 12 years for large and small water agencies nationwide found that monthly costs doubled for more in 29 localities. The unique look at costs for a diverse mix of water suppliers representing every state and Washington, D.C. found that a resource long taken for granted will continue to become more costly for millions of Americans. Indeed, rates haven’t crested yet because huge costs to upgrade or repair pipes, reservoirs and treatment plants loom nationwide. Read more....

5 comments:

  1. This is why I live in a rural area with a well and a septic tank. I have no bills for water and sewer, and it's one reason I can still survive on Social Security.

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  2. I also have a well and septic which means that I also pay no water or sewer bill. The monthly cost to run the water pump is around 30.00 and that allows me to water my 1.25 acres 24-7 if I feel so inclined. I do have the septic pumped once every three years, the cost to have it pumped last year was 175.00. If you live in the city then you have no real choice but city water because most water resources in the city are so polluted that with out millions of gallons of bleach, ammonia and massive filtration units the water would kill everyone. Between the crappy traffic, chemical laden water, over crowded roads, neighborhoods and schools I find it hard to understand why people still live like that. I'll take my homestead hands down.

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  3. One of the reason for the increase in water prices is that large companies such as Aqua are buying up little, local water system and then they are allowed to increase the rates because they also have under- performing systems that they have snapped up that need major inovations. In this way this huge corp. can increase their the rates of a relatively newly purchased and self-sufficient system in a place such as Manchaca, Texas, for rehab work for a system in Washington state. 'Hardly seems fair, but big business is big business. --It happened to us.

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  4. Even though one has their own well as we do, there is too much waste. There are high effiency toilets that flush using about one gallon of water and don't nessesaraly have to be flushed every time just for liquids. Double up and save. Also water can be saved from building eaves for gardens, lawns and toilets.

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  5. Just because you have your own well don't think you own it. Years ago California's Santa Cruz county passed a law mandating flow meters on ALL private wells with ultimate goal of charging you. I never registered my well nor installed a meter - don't know of anyone who complied. Think the program silently died, but bad precedent was set.

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