Water bills and families climbed with pressure

The cost of water It has risen throughout the United States, exposing some families suffering from financial distress due to the risk of falling into “water debts”, according to a report issued by Bank of America.

Facilities costs such as water and sanitation service, which include garbage collection, increased by more than twice the rate of consumer prices over the past year, with average monthly water benefit by 7.1 % on an annual basis, according to Bank of America data.

There are approximately 50,000 organized public water systems, which are also referred to as community water systems, which provide water throughout the year in the United States, according to the data of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The inflation increased at a slower pace in March

Bank of America’s analysis shows that these water systems are under pressure from a group of growing population, aging infrastructure and harsh weather patterns.

Today, the demand for water continues to rise, as ordinary Americans consume 82 gallons of water per day in their home. This means that a four -person family will use about 10,000 gallons in a period of 30 days, according to the report.

I told an economist at the Bank of America Institute, Taylor Poly Fox Business High capital and structural costs, Industry conditions for maintenance and treatment leads to high prices, which are transferred to consumers.

In order to maintain the structure of drinking water, promotion, replacement and infrastructure of wastewater, the United States will need to spend more than $ 744 billion over the next twenty years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Consumers, according to the report, are also not affected by an impartial manner. Water bills have risen throughout the country since 2022, but bills in the areas in the middle of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean and west north of the central regions have risen faster than the national average, according to Polly.

Energy prices are high and people in these states face the most electricity bills

In 2024, the mid -Atlantic area witnessed the largest increase, with prices increased by 9.5 % on an annual basis.

Data also showed that Families with higher income families It was rising faster. The big factor is that these families usually have larger properties, and as a result, the use of larger water. Climate change also in cost also.

For example, “drought conditions were prevalent in the third quarter of 2024 across the country, and the use of high -income water is more sensitive to weather given more water promoters and a lower cost sensitivity,” said Polly.

However, water bills are especially exhausting for low -income families given that they pay more as a percentage of their total income. Low family water assistance program helps federal income (Lihwap) by saving money to help low -income families with water and water bills issued.

The program has already served 1.7 million families in four years. But if the federal program is not funded at the previous levels, more families may fall into “water debts”, according to the report.

Although the water bill is usually a small component of payment of a total interest, these payments can eat in a The estimated consumer entered, According to Buli.

“If this continues to rise at a time when consumers already feel the cost of living, this is just another element of high prices that will make spending more costly and ultimately less money to spend on other things,” Polly said.

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Polly said it is important to monitor initiatives to cancel the proposed restrictions proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency in March. If they come into effect, “can reduce some financial pressure on local water facilities”, although how useful they are already is the question of question, according to Polly.