Water Affordability in the United States: An Initial Exploration and an Agenda for Research

• In Event: 254 - Section on Environment and Technology Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 03. Water

Abstract

This paper explores water affordability issues in the United States. It begins with a historical review of the problem in developing countries, and then looks at the incipient attention that water affordability received in the United States in the 1990s. Next, the paper looks at the increasing concern about water affordability that has emerged in the last few years, presenting recent national data and studying the case of water disconnections in Detroit. The article concludes that water affordability problems in the United States are significant and likely to grow in the near future, and it presents an agenda for research.

Author

• Oriol Mirosa, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee