The colour of unaffordable household water: racial/ethnic inequalities in bills and shutoffs across local water districts in nine urban areas of the United States.
Sarango, M., Kim, D., & Harlan, S. L. (2025). Local Environment, 1–26.
ABSTRACT: The rapidly rising cost of household water bills is an increasing financial burden and health concern for low-income households in the United States, a nation that offers neither a constitutional right nor an enforceable national statute that ensures peoples’ access to water. Local water districts use their own discretion to develop, implement, and enforce distinct water rate structures, assistance programmes, and non-payment penalties. This study is a statistical analysis of water unaffordability and water shutoffs by racial/ethnic composition of communities in water districts across nine urban areas. We collected cross-sectional survey data from a multistage, stratified non-proportional quota sample of 6,938 adults who are responsible for paying their own household’s water bill. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that racial/ethnic inequalities in water affordability and shutoff, previously documented in location-specific studies, are widespread urban problems across the U.S. Communities with greater shares of racial/ethnic minorities were more likely to experience unaffordable water bills compared to predominantly non-Hispanic white communities after controlling for respondents’ household income, age, conservation efforts, and urban area. Communities with greater shares of racial/ethnic minorities had much higher odds of water shutoffs and this association was only partially explained by household water unaffordability. Improvement of local water infrastructure to reduce utilities’ costs for delivering water services and providing more financial assistance for low-income households, which are disproportionately in communities of colour, are serious – and related – problems. We offer recommendations for how municipalities may improve practices and reduce racial/ethnic inequalities in access to affordable water.
Key policy highlights
- Fifteen percent of households in a sample of nine major U.S. urban areas have water bills that exceed a federal affordability guideline.
- Household water bill burden is significantly higher in communities with greater shares of racial/ethnic minorities, controlling for household income and water conservation.
- The odds of households having water service shut off rise significantly in communities with greater shares of racial/ethnic minorities, controlling for household income, water bill burden, and water bill assistance.
- Local governments can aid communities of colour by banning water shutoffs, transparency in data reporting, partnering with community organisations for procedural justice, providing universal water bill assistance to low-income households, and innovation in water financing.
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