Shocking report says water bills to triple across USA

(NaturalNews) With wages stagnant or declining, gasoline and electricity prices on the rise and food prices steadily increasing, the last thing American families need is another increase in a basic necessity. Yet, a new report says that's exactly what you're going to get: Water bills that will likely double ortripleover the next few years, thanks to the nation's crumbling water system infrastructure.

A new study and report by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) entitled,Buried No Longer: Confronting America's Water Infrastructure Challenge, improving and expanding the nation's underground water systems will cost upwards of $1 trillion over the next 25 years. And, as is always the case, water system users are going to getsoakedwith the bill.

What does that mean in real dollars and cents? Right now the average family household pays about $400 a year. The fixes that are needed over the next quarter century mean that bills could rise anywhere from $300-$550 a year, meaning water bills could skyrocket to $900 a year or more.

Crumbling infrastructure

Experts will tell you that investing now, rather than later, is a good idea and cheaper in the long run. But that's hard to swallow for wage earners whose incomes have been stuck in neutral or worse, declining for the past decade. Add to that a raft of new tax hikes and cuts in benefits, and hard-hit Americans are in no mood to fork out even more money in new fees and rate increases.

But that doesn't change the fact that, without improvements, the nation's supply and delivery of fresh drinking water is in peril. In fact, the AWWA believes spending to fix the pipes and other infrastructure is likely to rise from $13 billion a year today to $30 billion in 2040.

"Delaying the investment can result in degrading water service, increasing water service disruptions, and increasing expenditures for emergency repairs. Ultimately we will have to face the need to "catch up" with past deferred investments, and the more we delay the harder the job will be when the day of reckoning comes," said the report.

Not all of the expense of this upgrade will come from higher water bills, though much of it will. Some communities, the report said, will be double-tapped, so to speak.

"Other communities will need to collect significant "impact" or development fees to meet the needs of a growing population. Numerous communities will need to invest for replacement and raise funds to accommodate growth at the same time. Investments that may be required to meet new standards for drinking water quality will add even more to the bill," it said.

Read more here.