Exploring Water Affordability in the U.S.: Drivers, Data, and Dashboards

Twenty years ago, the water industry realized that water utilities in the United States were entering an era of replacing aging infrastructure, and utilities needed to increase rates to charge the full cost of water services. Today, there is a growing affordability gap as the costs of water services have grown faster than income for many Americans. However, we don’t know the scale of affordability challenges for individual households or the financial capability of utilities.

In this webinar, Lauren Patterson, senior policy associate in the Nicholas Institute's Water Policy Program, will discuss the affordability gap, why affordability is hard to measure, and what we are learning about the scale of affordability challenges. She will also demonstrate the new Water Affordability Dashboard as one tool to explore affordability and financial capability within and across utilities.