Water Affordability Landscape
EPA is committed to ensuring all Americans have access to essential clean and safe water services. Water affordability refers to the ability of an individual household to pay for essential water services bills, including drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater, without sacrificing other household needs.
Water affordability is a growing issue. EPA estimates that between 12.1 million and 19.2 million households throughout the U.S. lack affordable access to water services. Many factors can influence water affordability, such as having a fixed or lower income, job loss, illness, or other situations.
Water utilities across the U.S. also face significant water affordability challenges. Many utilities struggle to meet rising costs for operations and maintenance, upgrading aging infrastructure, and protecting public health and the environment, while facing difficult decisions about raising rates. When too many customer accounts fall behind in paying their bills, some utilities find rates and fees inadequate to cover infrastructure needs and treatment costs.
Explore more information on water affordability and the work that EPA is doing to address challenges faced by both communities and utilities:
- Water Affordability Needs Assessment Report: Read EPA’s 2024 Water Affordability Needs Assessment, which evaluates the prevalence of households across the U.S. that lack access to affordable water services and explores options for addressing those challenges.
- Resources for Utilities: Explore water affordability resources for the water sector, including information on pricing services and establishing Utility Customer Assistance Programs.
- Resources for Consumers: Explore water affordability resources for communities and the public.
- Stakeholder Engagement: View notes from previously conducted stakeholder listening sessions. These notes capture input received by EPA from a wide range of stakeholders, including utilities, associations, academia, nonprofits, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, and the public.
- Case Studies: Explore snapshots of the impact of water burden on communities and utilities, and examples of strategies for addressing water affordability challenges.