Climate change could double household water costs in some cities, study finds.
Some of the lowest-income residents could struggle to afford water.
Household water costs could nearly double in some American cities, new research suggests, as climate change further stresses municipal water systems.
Researchers at Stanford University and other institutions studied how a hotter, drier climate is poised to spike water bills for residents of Santa Cruz, California, in a peer-reviewed study published this week in the journal Nature Sustainability. While the study focused on that coastal city, the outlook is similar for many cities that will be forced to make costly upgrades to water systems as climate change intensifies, said lead author Jennifer Skerker, who worked on the research while studying for her doctorate in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford.
