Water is a human right. Water is life. We all need water to survive and thrive. Yet, far too many families in the United States struggle to afford the rising cost of access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The Water Equity & Climate Resilience Caucus is working toward a future where every person is assured access to safe, affordable water.
What is Water Affordability?
Water rates are rising exponentially, faster than inflation and all other utility costs. In an American Water Works Association survey, 1 in 3 respondents reported struggling to pay their water bill on time. Faced with rising and unaffordable bills, households risk debt, having their water shutoff, or even losing their home or children.
Federal policy that advances water affordability includes increasing federal funding to maintain and update critical infrastructure, designing water bills that are reasonable and account for a household’s ability to pay, and national water bill assistance.
Water bill assistance is a critical component of water affordability by lowering water bills, providing debt relief, and using other measures to reduce the water cost burden for low-income households. 9 in 10 U.S. voters agree that access to safe, affordable water is a human right, and 75% support a permanent federal water bill assistance program.
Water Affordability for All recognizes the human right to water, as defined by the United Nations, that entitles everyone to have access to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible, and affordable water for personal and domestic use.The Caucus multi-year campaign aims to turn this value into reality for every family in the United States.
The Water Affordability Workgroup meets monthly to build understanding and consensus around the Caucus’s “Water Affordability for All” policy agenda and move forward a shared vision for national water affordability policy. To join, fill out the WECR Caucus interest form.
