For-profit water corporations, federal cuts and climate crisis are ‘supercharging water rate hikes’, study co-author says
US households are paying 62% more for drinking water than they did a decade ago – outpacing inflation, grocery prices and household incomes, according to a new study.
Food & Water Watch, a Washington DC-based non-profit, analyzed 2025 billing data from the 500 largest community water systems in the US, which together serve about 155 million people, or 45% of the country’s population. The analysis compared current rates with data from a similar Food & Water Watch survey conducted in 2015. The study does not include wastewater or storm water charges, which are often billed separately from drinking water service.
In 2025, the average household using 60,000 gallons of water paid $531 for drinking water service, according to the study. However, costs varied widely, with annual bills ranging from $133 at the cheapest system to $1,416 at the most expensive.
Part of the problem is that a lot of places pushed for privitizaton because of chronic disinvestment for decades. Politicians kept water costs low by doing the bare minimum to keep the system running and not investing in long term maintenance.
For them, selling to Suez made it easier for the towns to give someone else to blame for rising costs, even if the rising costs were higher than if the local officials showed actual leadership.