Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share What's the Price of Your Household Water?
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
What's the Price of Your Household Water?
In this episode, Bluefield's Private Water Analyst Megan Bondar joins host Reese Tisdale to discuss the latest findings on U.S. water and sewer rates. What has changed in 2024? With Bluefield’s ninth annual analysis covering data from 50 of the largest U.S. cities, this episode explores key trends in pricing, affordability challenges, and the factors driving rising household water bills.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
Household water and sewer bills have climbed 4.6% from 2023 to 2024, and surged 24% in the past five years.
Inflation, aging infrastructure, and slow federal funding distribution are putting financial pressure on utilities and ratepayers.
The Northeast region leads with the highest monthly combined residential bill, while cities like Phoenix and Long Beach offer some of the lowest rates.
In some cities, minimum wage workers must work over 20 hours per month just to cover their water bills, exceeding EPA affordability thresholds.
Tiered rate structures, volumetric surcharges, and infrastructure surcharges are some of the ways utilities are addressing affordability while investing in upgrades.
If you enjoy listening to The Future of Water Podcast, please tell a friend or colleague, and if you haven’t already, please click to follow this podcast wherever you listen.
If you’d like to be informed of water market news, trends, perspectives and analysis from Bluefield Research, subscribe to Waterline, our weekly newsletter published each Wednesday.
Related Research & Analysis:
View all episodes
By Reese Tisdale
4.9
3535 ratings
In this episode, Bluefield's Private Water Analyst Megan Bondar joins host Reese Tisdale to discuss the latest findings on U.S. water and sewer rates. What has changed in 2024? With Bluefield’s ninth annual analysis covering data from 50 of the largest U.S. cities, this episode explores key trends in pricing, affordability challenges, and the factors driving rising household water bills.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
Household water and sewer bills have climbed 4.6% from 2023 to 2024, and surged 24% in the past five years.
Inflation, aging infrastructure, and slow federal funding distribution are putting financial pressure on utilities and ratepayers.
The Northeast region leads with the highest monthly combined residential bill, while cities like Phoenix and Long Beach offer some of the lowest rates.
In some cities, minimum wage workers must work over 20 hours per month just to cover their water bills, exceeding EPA affordability thresholds.
Tiered rate structures, volumetric surcharges, and infrastructure surcharges are some of the ways utilities are addressing affordability while investing in upgrades.
If you enjoy listening to The Future of Water Podcast, please tell a friend or colleague, and if you haven’t already, please click to follow this podcast wherever you listen.
If you’d like to be informed of water market news, trends, perspectives and analysis from Bluefield Research, subscribe to Waterline, our weekly newsletter published each Wednesday.
Related Research & Analysis:
More shows like The Future of Water
View all
Economist Podcasts
4,169 Listeners
Motley Fool Money
3,221 Listeners
Money Guy Show
3,211 Listeners
Odd Lots
1,855 Listeners
The Knowledge Project
2,673 Listeners
Pivot
9,522 Listeners
Water Values Podcast
189 Listeners
The Intercept Briefing
6,108 Listeners
Wall Street Breakfast
1,030 Listeners
Interesting Times with Ross Douthat
7,033 Listeners
The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
5,458 Listeners
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
1,310 Listeners
Volts
609 Listeners
Catalyst with Shayle Kann
273 Listeners
Joys of Compounding
97 Listeners