Water Rates Poised to Rise Further as Utility Debt Grows

Water rates, which for some U.S. customers have more than doubled since 2000, are probably going to increase in the short term as companies struggle with rising debt and the need to spend on infrastructure, according to a Columbia University report.

Utility debt increased on average 33 percent from 2000 to 2010, while water rates rose 23 percent, a report by Columbia’s Water Center concluded. For a third of the more than 1,000 utilities surveyed by the American Water Works Association, debt and rates gained more than 100 percent in the time period.