From City to City, Why Are Water Utility Rates So Variable?

The Future of Water Podcast host, Reese Tisdale, and Senior Water Analyst Charlie Suse, discuss findings and takeaways from Bluefield's Water & Sewer Rate Index, published earlier this month. Over the past 12 years, combined household water and sewer bills for a typical U.S. household has increased by a total of 54.8%, or an average of 4.1% each year. From 2022 to 2023, combined household water and sewer bills increased by 3.9%, down slightly from the 4.3% increase observed from 2021 to 2022. On a whole, water and wastewater rates are fairly stable, not changing dramatically from year-to-year. But, from city to city, there is some variation. This episode is a discussion of water rates across some of the largest utilities in the U.S., uncovering the broader trends year-on-year and causes for rate volatility at the local level. Reese Tisdale and Charlie Suse hit on trends in water rates, drivers behind water rate fluctuation, and break down some of the hidden costs in your water bill. 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: U.S. Municipal Water & Sewer: Annual Utility Rate Index, 2023