How Many People Can't Afford Their Water Bills? Too Many.

Water is a human right: clean, safe and affordable water service should be accessible to everyone. And it’s not hard to understand why: we need water to cook, to clean, and to keep our houses and families healthy. That's why we need legislation that ensures that everyone has up to date public water service.

But in the past few decades, water rates have grown increasingly expensive. According to a recent Michigan State University study, already over one in ten households in the U.S. can’t afford their water bills. And unless we do something to fix this problem, it’s likely to get worse: in the next five years, thanks to rising water prices, more than one in three households could be unable to afford their water bills! That means the proportion of households unable to pay their water bills could more than triple unless something changes. And Trump’s proposed infrastructure plans, which threatens to privatize our water service, could make this problem even worse.

Unsurprisingly, the risks of rising water costs and loss of service hit low-income and rural communities harder than most. Residents in economically distressed cities are less able to pay their water bills—or to fix the water pipes and other parts of their water systems that may need repair to ensure their safety.

No one should have to think twice about taking a shower or filling up a glass from the tap. That’s why we need the WATER Act, which would dedicate federal funding to make sure our public water services remain up to date, safe and affordable—for everyone. Take action for safe, affordable water service.