Plan B Forum

Millions of ordinary Americans are facing rising and unaffordable bills for running water, and risk being disconnected or losing their homes if they cannot pay, a landmark Guardian investigation has found.

Exclusive analysis of 12 US cities shows the combined price of water and sewage increased by an average of 80% between 2010 and 2018, with more than two-fifths of residents in some cities living in neighbourhoods with unaffordable bills.

In the first nationwide research of it’s kind, our findings reveal the painful impact of America’s expanding water poverty crisis as aging infrastructure, environmental clean-ups, changing demographics and the climate emergency fuel exponential price hikes in almost every corner of the country.

America’s growing water affordability crisis comes as the Covid-19 pandemic underlines the importance of access to clean water. The research shows that rising bills are not just hurting the poorest but also, increasingly, working Americans.

“More people are in trouble, and the poorest of the poor are in big trouble,” said Roger Colton, a leading utilities analyst, who was commissioned by the Guardian to analyse water poverty. “The data shows that we’ve got an affordability problem in an overwhelming number of cities nationwide that didn’t exist a decade ago, or even two or three years ago in some cities.”

Water bills exceeding 4% of household income are considered unaffordable.

Colton’s 88-page report is published today at the launch of a major project on America’s water emergency by the Guardian, Consumer Reports and other partners.

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Long Run wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 23, 2020 1:01 pm

I would add one other thing: how amazing is it that most of us have plentiful fresh, potable, sometimes nearly pristine, water in such wide supply....

Big RR wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 23, 2020 7:56 pm

I recall seeing some report in my town which showed the golf courses pay much less for their water (and sewers) than residential customers--something I don't understand. Farmers oirrigate fileds which grow crops that benefit all of us, but the large amounts of water the golf courses use to water their greens beneft only a few (especially private country clubs which benefit only the members); OK, I'll concede that golf courses are open land, and there is a benefit to the community for that, but one I doubt is in line with all the water they use or the discounted rates they get.

Bottled water sold by Whole Foods has high levels of arsenic, tests show

Hannah Denham, The Washington Post Published 9:36 am PDT, Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Tests of the Starkey Spring Water label showed arsenic levels ranging from 9.49 to 9.5 parts per billion, the nonprofit consumer advocacy group said. The federal threshold is 10 parts per billion, Consumer Reports said, and of the 45 brands tested from February to May, Starkey was the only brand with arsenic levels that exceeded 3 parts per billion.


In an emailed statement, Whole Foods said the company's "highest priority is to provide customers with safe, high-quality and refreshing spring water."

"Beyond the required annual testing by [a U.S. Food and Drug Administration] certified lab, we have an accredited third-party lab test every production run of water before it is sold," the statement said. "These products meet all FDA requirements and are fully compliant with FDA standards for heavy metals."

Starkey Spring Water is also carried by Amazon, though it was listed as "currently unavailable" on the e-commerce site on Wednesday morning. (Whole Foods is a unit of Amazon, whose chief executive Jeff Bezos also owns The Washington Post.) It's still being sold in Whole Foods stores and on its website for $1.99 for a one-pint bottle. According to its product label, Starkey Spring Water originates from the Starkey Hot Springs in Idaho and is "deep down good. 11,000 years old."

Whole Foods introduced Starkey Spring Water in 2015. The next year, according to Consumer Reports, the retailer recalled more than 2,000 cases of water after tests showed arsenic levels that approached or exceeded the federal limit of 10 parts per billion. In 2019, Consumer Reports tests showed that Starkey Spring water contained levels approaching or exceeding the federal limit of 10 parts per billion.

James Dickerson, Consumer Reports' chief scientific officer, said drinking one bottle probably won't harm people. But he cautioned that the risk grows with regular use.

"Regular consumption of even small amounts of the heavy metal over extended periods increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and lower IQ scores in children, and poses other health issues as well," Dickerson said in a news release.

Starkey Spring Water is also carried by Amazon

ex-khobar Andy wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:04 am

Israel uses reverse osmosis (RO) to treat seawater - essentially filtering out ions. They have managed to solve the biofouling issue which has long bedeviled RO technology. They also have a massive water saving and reuse culture which just would never work in America.

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