Report links soaring US water costs to private utility expansion

Over the past decade, drinking water costs climbed 62% for the average household—a spike that dwarfs growth in grocery prices and median income. The analysis found that private utility providers are the primary drivers of this affordability gap. In California, which accounts for more than half of the 25 most expensive water systems in the country, the San Jose Water Company emerged as the most costly utility between 2015 and 2025.

Beyond California and Pennsylvania, the crisis is hitting low-income regions particularly hard. In West Virginia, where average household income remains among the lowest in the nation, water bills averaged $1,383 annually. The report indicates that water costs are currently unaffordable for low-income residents in 93% of the surveyed systems. Mary Grant, water policy director at Food & Water Watch, argued that the combination of corporate control and federal disinvestment has forced families to subsidize aging infrastructure. The group is now calling for legislative intervention, specifically urging Congress to pass measures like the WATER Act to restore federal funding and hold industrial polluters accountable for contamination.