United States: Water and Sanitation
Data
Average urban water use (liter/capita/day)	608 in 1996-1998 [1]
Average water and sanitation bill	$474/year (US$40/month) in 2002 [2]
Share of household metering	very high
Annual investment in water supply and sanitation	$60/capita/year (early 1990s) [3]
Share of self-financing by utilities	High
Share of tax-financing	Less than 10% (2008)
Institutions
Service provision	Local
Policy and regulation	State and Federal
Number of urban service providers	4,000
Number of rural service providers	50,000

Water supply and sanitation in the United States is provided by a wide variety of service providers. Most Americans are served by publicly owned utilities or directly by municipalities. Eleven percent of Americans receive water from private (so-called “investor-owned”) utilities. In rural areas, cooperatives often provide drinking water. Finally, up to 15 percent of Americans are served by their own wells.

In terms of water sources, 34 percent of Americans (101 million) are supplied with groundwater, while 66% (195 million) are supplied with surface water. ^[4] Drinking water quality is generally good, although there are some concerns about disinfection by-products, lead, perchlorates and pharmaceutical substances. Increased variability and intensity of rainfall as a result of climate change is expected to produce both more severe droughts and flooding, with potentially serious consequences for water supply and for pollution from combined sewer overflows. ^{[5] [6]}

Water supply and wastewater systems are regulated by state governments and the federal government. At the state level regulation is entrusted to state health and environmental departments, as well as to Public Utilities Commissions or Public Service Commissions concerning tariff regulation. At the federal level, drinking water quality and wastewater discharges are regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency‎, which also provides significant funding to utilities through State Revolving Funds.

Water consumption in the United States is more than twice as high as in Central Europe, with large variations among States. In 2002 the average American family spent $474 on water and sewerage charges, ^[2] which is about the same level as in Europe. The median household spent about 1.1 percent of its income on water and sewerage. ^[7] However, for the poorest households water and sewer services may be unaffordable. For example, 18 percent of U.S. households paid more than 4 percent of their income on their water and sewer bill in 1997. ^[8]

Access

In the United States access to an improved water source - defined as household connections, boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs and rainwater collection - is universal. ^[9] Acccess to adequate sanitation is also universal. 83% of households are served by sewers (95% in urban areas and 33% in rural areas) and the remainder is served by on-site sanitation systems such as septic tanks. ^[10]

Water use

While water is being used for many purposes - mainly for irrigation, industries and public supply- this article covers specifically the public water supply, which accounted for 43 billion gallons (163 million m3) per day, or 22% of total water use in 2000. ^[11]

Residential (home) water use accounts for more than half of publicly supplied water in the United States, ^[12] with the remainder being used by offices, public buildings, businesses and industry that does not have its own water sources.

Residential end use of water in the United States is equivalent to more than 1 billion glasses of tap water per day. Total water use was 161 gallon (608 liter) per capita per day in 1996-1998, excluding leakage. 58% is used outdoors for gardening, swimming pools etc., corresponding to 101 gallon (382 liter) per capita per day, and 42% is used indoors, corresponding to 60 gallon (226 liter). ^[1] The arid West has some of the highest per capita residential water use because of landscape irrigation. ^[12] Indoor use falls into the following categories:

• body cleanliness:
  • 31% Toilets
  • 2% Baths
  • 19% Showers
• washing:
  • 25% Clothes Washers
  • 2% Dishwashers
• 18% Faucets
• 3% Other Domestic Uses ^[1]

Per capita residential water use in the United States is more than three times as high as in France(165 liter/capita/day or l/c/d) ^[13], four times as high as in England(150 l/c/d) ^[14] and five times as high as in Germany(126 l/c/d). ^[15]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched the WaterSense program to encourage water efficiency through the use of a special label on consumer products in 2006. ^[16]

Only a very small share of public water supply is used for drinking, and the use of water filters for drinking water and bottled water is common. According to one survey conducted among 216 parents (173 Latinos and 43 non-Latinos), 63 (29%) never drank tap water. The share is much higher among Latinos (34%) than among non-Latinos (12%). The study concluded that many Latino families avoid drinking tap water because they fear it causes illness, resulting in greater cost for the purchase of bottled and filtered water. ^[17]

Water sources

About 90% of public water systems in the U.S. obtain their water from groundwater. However, since systems served by groundwater tend to be much smaller than systems served by surface water, only 34% of Americans (101 million) are supplied with treated groundwater, while 66% (195 million) are supplied with surface water. ^[4]

With water use in the United States increasing every year, many regions are starting to feel the pressure. At least 36 states are anticipating local, regional, or statewide water shortages by 2013, even under non-drought conditions. ^[12]

Non-conventional water sources such as seawater desalination and reclaimed water currently account for only a small share of total public water supply in the U.S. In 2005 over 2,000 desalination plants with a capacity of more than 100m3/day had been installed or contracted in every state in the U.S. with a total capacity of more than 6 million m3/day. Only 7% of that capacity was for seawater desalination, while 51% used brackish water and 26% used river water as water source. ^[18] The contracted capacity corresponds to 2.4% of total municipal and industrial water use in the country in 2000. ^[11] The actual share of desalinated water is lower, because some of the contracted capacity was never built or never operated, was closed down or is not operated at full capacity. ^[18]

Reclaimed water is being reused directly for various non-potable uses in the United States, including urban landscape irrigation of parks, school yards, highway medians and golf courses; fire protection; commercial uses such as vehicle washing; industrial reuse such as cooling water, boiler water and process water; environmental and recreational uses such as the creation or restoration of wetlands; as well as agricultural irrigation. ^[19] In some cases, such as in Irvine Ranch Water District in Orange County it is also used for flushing toilets. ^[20] It was estimated that in 2002 a total of 1.7 billion gallons (6.4 million m3) per day, or almost 3% of public water supply, were being directly reused. California reused 0.6 and Florida 0.5 billion gallons per day respectively. 25 states had regulations regarding the use of reclaimed water in 2002. ^[19] Planned direct reuse of reclaimed water was initiated in 1932 with the construction of a reclaimed water facility at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Reclaimed water is typically distributed with a color-coded dual piping network that keeps reclaimed water pipes completely separate from potable water pipes. ^[21]

There are plans to increase the share of non-conventional water resources in the future, in particular in water-scarce areas with high population growth. California alone had plans to build 21 desalination plants in 2006 with a total capacity of 450 million gallons per day (1.7 bn m3/day), which would represent a massive 70-fold increase over current seawater desalination capacity in the state. ^[22] In 2007 the largest desalination plant in the United States is the one at Tampa Bay, Florida, which began desalinating 25 million gallons (95,000 m³) of water per day in December 2007. ^[23]

Cities supplied primarily by surface water without water treatment. Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon are among the large cities in the U.S. that do not need to treat their surface water sources beyond disinfection, because their water sources are located in the upper reaches of protected watersheds and thus are naturally very pure. ^[24] Boston receives most of its water from the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs and the Ware River in central and western Massachusetts. New York City's water supply, for example, is fed by a 2,000-square-mile (5,200 km²) watershed in the Catskill Mountains. The watershed is in one of the largest protected wilderness areas in the United States. ^[25] San Francisco obtains most of its drinking water from high Sierra snowmelt through the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. However, to supplement the imported water supply, and to help maintain delivery of drinking water in the event of a major earthquake, drought or decline in the snowpack, San Francisco considers the use of alternative locally produced, sustainable water sources such as reclaimed water for irrigation, local groundwater and desalination during drought periods, all as part of its Water Supply Diversification Program. ^[26] The largest source of water supply for Portland, Oregon, is the Bull Run Watershed. ^[27]

Cities supplied primarily by surface water with water treatment. Cities that rely on more or less polluted surface water from the lower reaches of rivers have to rely on extensive and costly water purification plants. Las Vegas, Nevada, obtains 90% of its water from Lake Mead on the Colorado River, which has been affected by droughts. ^[28] To supply the rapidly growing city with water it plans to buy water rights in the Snake Valley in White Pine County, 250 miles north of the city straddling the Utah border, and pump it to Las Vegas through a US$2 billion pipeline. ^[29] Phoenix also obtains its drinking water primarily from the Colorado River further downstream at Lake Havasu through the Central Arizona Project. Los Angeles obtains about half of its drinking water from the Owens River and Mono Lake through the Los Angeles Aqueduct, ^[30] with additional supplies from Lake Havasu through the Colorado River Aqueduct.

Denver receives its water almost entirely from mountain snowmelt in a number of highly protected watersheds in more than 9 counties. Its water is stored in 14 reservoirs, the largest of which is the Dillon Reservoir on the Blue River in the Colorado River. Water is diverted from there through the Harold D. Roberts Tunnel under the Continental Divide into the South Platte River Basin. ^[31]

The cities on the Mississippi River are supplied by water from that river except for Memphis. The metropolitan area of Atlanta receives 70% of its water from the Chattahoochee River and another 28% from the Etowah, Flint, Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers. ^[32] Chicago is supplied by water from Lake Michigan and Detroit receives its water from the Detroit River. ^[33] The Greater Washington area is supplied with water from the Potomac River.

Cities supplied primarily by groundwater. The South Florida metropolitan area including Miami obtains its drinking water primarily from the Biscayne Aquifer. Given increasing water demand, Miami-Dade County considers the use of reclaimed water to help preserve the Biscayne Aquifer. ^[34] Memphis receives its water from artesian aquifers. ^[35]

Cities supplied by a mix of groundwater and surface water Seventy-one percent of Houston's supply flows from the Trinity River into Lake Livingston, and from the San Jacinto River into Lake Conroe and Lake Houston. Deep underground wells drilled into the Evangeline and Chicot aquifers provide the other 29 percent of the city’s water supply. ^[36]

Impact of climate change

According to the National Academies, climate change affects water supply in the U.S. in the following ways:

• Rising water demands. Hotter summers mean thirstier people and plants. In addition, more evaporation from reservoirs and irrigated farmland will lead to faster depletion of water supplies.
• Increased drought. Scientific evidence suggests that rising temperatures in the southwestern United States will reduce river flows and contribute to an increased severity, frequency, and duration of droughts.
• Seasonal supply reductions. Many utilities depend on winter snowpack to store water and then gradually release it through snowmelt during spring and summer. Warmer temperatures will accelerate snowmelt, causing the bulk of the runoff to occur earlier and potentially increasing water storage needs in these areas.
• Long-term water supply reductions. Many communities depend on seasonal water runoff from glaciers in the Rocky Mountains. Although shrinking glaciers create higher runoff (and thus more water) in the short term, the longer-term disappearance of glaciers threatens this important water resource. ^[6]

In addition, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) reports that "increased frequency and intensity of rainfall is one of the most immediate effects of global warming that is already apparent in streamflow records from the last several decades." ^{[5] [37]} More severe storms could produce more severe flooding. According to AMWA, this "will result in additional water pollution from a large variety of sources. Chief among these are wastewater treatment, storage, and conveyance systems." ^[37] Furthermore, AMWA points out that preliminary work by the United States Environmental Protection Agency‎ (EPA) has shown that, "for the most part, wastewater treatment plants and combined sewer overflow control programs have been designed on the basis of the historic hydrologic record, taking no account of prospective changes in flow conditions due to climate change." ^[37]

Service quality

Service quality of water and sanitation services includes such issues as drinking water quality, continuity of supply, pressure, the quality of sanitation services and the accuracy of billing.

Drinking water quality In almost all cases water supply is continuous, under good pressure and in conformity with the norms of the Safe Drinking Water Act, which sets Maximum Contaminant Levels for pollutants. The EPA's Consumer Confidence Rule of 1998 requires most public water suppliers to provide consumer confidence reports, also known as annual water quality reports, to their customers. ^[38] According to the EPA, each year by July 1st anyone connected to a public water system should receive in the mail an annual water quality report that tells where water in a specific locality comes from and what's in it. Consumers can find out about these local reports on a map provided by EPA. ^[39]

Nevertheless, there are several aspects of drinking water quality that are of some concern in the United States, including Cryptosporidium, ^[40] disinfection by-products, lead, perchlorates and pharmaceutical substances.

Water fluoridation Water fluoridation, the controlled addition of moderate concentrations of fluoride to a public water supply to reduce tooth decay, is used for about two-thirds of the U.S. population on public water systems ^[41]. Water fluoridation is contentious for ethical, safety, and efficacy reasons and opposition to water fluoridation exists despite its support by public health organizations.

Wastewater services quality Wastewater services (sanitation) quality can be measured through the occurrence and severity of combined sewer overflows (CSO), sanitary sewer overflows, sewer backflows into homes, and the effectiveness of wastewater treatment. About 772 communities have combined sewer systems, serving about 40 million people, mostly in the Northeast, the Great Lakes Region and the Pacific Northwest. ^[42] CSO discharges during heavy storms can cause serious water pollution. A 2004 EPA report to Congress estimated that there are 9,348 CSOs in the U.S., discharging about 850 million gallons of untreated wastewater and storm water to the environment. EPA estimates that between 23,000 and 75,000 sanitary sewer overflows occur each year, resulting in releases of between 3 and 10 billion gallons of untreated wastewater. ^[43]

Billing accuracy There are occasional cases of inaccurate of billing. ^[44] Water users who cannot resolve a billing complaint with their utility can contact their respective State Public Utilities Commission, which in most states has jurisdiction to regulate water utilities.

Responsibility for water supply and sanitation

Service provision

According to EPA's community water system survey 2000 there are about 54,000 community public water systems in the United States, which are either publicly owned, cooperatives or privately owned. ^[45] 4,000 systems provide water in localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, serving an estimated total of 234 million people in 2007. The remaining 50,000 systems in localities with less than 10,000 inhabitants, serving an estimated 53 million people in 2007. ^[46] According to another source published in 2002, approximately 15% of Americans (45 million people) relied on their own wells as a source of drinking water. ^[47] Some of these estimates appear to be overly high, since the sum of the population served by public systems and of the self-supplied population exceeds the total population of the U.S.

89% of Americans who are being served by a public water system are served by a publicly owned or cooperative utility and 11% by privately owned utilities. In urban areas, publicly owned systems are either managed directly by towns and cities (such as in New York City) or indirectly by water companies ( public utilities) owned by towns, cities and counties. In some cases public utilities span several jurisdictions, such as in the form of special-purpose districts. Utility cooperatives are a major provider of water and sanitation services, especially in rural areas ^{[48] [49]}

About half of American drinking water utilities, or about 26,700, are privately owned. Most of the private utilities are small, but a few are large and are traded on the stock exchange. The largest private water company in the U.S. is American Water, which serves 16 million customers in 32 states and Canada. It is followed by United Water, which serves 7 million customers and is onwed by the French firm SUEZ. Overall, about 33.5 million Americans (11% of the population) get water from a privately owned drinking water utility. ^[50] In addition, 20% of all wastewater utilities in the U.S. are privately owned, many of which are relatively small. About 3% of Americans get wastewater service from private wastewater utilities. In addition, more than 1300 government entities (typically municipalities) contract with private companies to provide water and/or wastewater services. ^[50]

There are also a few large bulk water suppliers in the arid Southwest of the United States, which sell water to utilities. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) sells treated water from the Colorado River and Northern California to its member utilities in Southern California through the California Aqueduct. 26 cities and water districts serving 18 million people are members of MWD. The Central Arizona Water Conservation district supplies water from the Colorado River to 80 municipal, industrial, agricultural and Indian customers in Central and Southern Arizona through the Central Arizona Project Aqueduct (CAP).

Regulation

The economic regulation of water and sanitation service providers in the U.S. (in particular in relation to the setting of user water rates) is usually the responsibility of regulators such as Public Utility Commissions at the state level (see economic regulator). The environmental and drinking water quality regulation is the responsibility of state departments of health or environment and the EPA. ^[51]

Professional and trade associations

Professional associations and trade associations play an important role in shaping decisions related to water supply and sanitation in the U.S. Professional associations include the American Water Works Association (AWWA) geared mainly at drinking water professionals and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) geared mainly at wastewater professionals. The geographical scope of both is greater than the U.S.: AWWA has members in 100 countries, with a focus on the U.S. and Canada, and WEF has member associations in 30 countries.

There are four trade associations in the sector: The National Association of Water Companies (NAWC), founded in 1895, represents the interests of small and large private water and wastewater utilities; ^[52] the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), founded in 1970, represents the interests of wastewater utilities; ^[53] the National Rural Water Association (NRWA), founded in 1976, represents small water and wastewater utilities; ^[54] and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), founded in 1981, represents the interests of large publicly owned drinking water utilities. ^[55] In addition to lobbying, some of these trade associations also provide public education, as well as training and technical assistance to their members.

Human resources

Water and sanitation utilities in the United States had 41,922 employees in 2002. ^[56] The water community in the US is faced with a swiftly-retiring workforce and a tightening market place for new workers. In 2008, approximately one third of executives and managers were expected to retire in the following five years. ^[57]

Financial aspects

Pricing and affordability Water and sanitation pricing in the U.S. takes into account the cost of treating and distributing water, as well as collecting and treating wastewater (service provision). It does usually not take into account the opportunity cost of water itself. The cost of providing water and sanitation services in the U.S. is largely recovered from users through tariffs. On average U.S. water tariffs are $2.50 per 1,000 gallons ($0.66 per cubic meter), ^[58] with significant variations between localities. Annual combined water and sewer bills vary between $228 in Chicago and $1,476 in Atlanta in 2008. ^[59] In 2002 the average water and sewer bill was $474. ^[4] This was about the same level as in France and the UK. Total revenues of water and sanitation utilities in the U.S. stood at $7.4 billion in 2002. ^[56] The median household in the U.S. spent about 1.1% of its income on water and sewerage in 2002. However, poor households face a different situation: 18% of U.S. households, many of them poor, paid more than 4% of their income on their water and sewer bill. ^[60]

Tariff structure About one third of water tariffs are linear (i.e. the unit tariff is independent of the level of consumption), one third are increasing-block tariffs (the unit rate increases with consumption) and one third are decreasing-block tariffs (the unit rate decreases with consumption). Decreasing-block rates offer hardly any incentive for water conservation. ^[61]

Financing Infrastructure is typically financed through utilities’ own revenue or debt. Debt can be in the form of soft loans from State Revolving Funds (SRF), credits from commercial Banks or – in the case of large utilities - from bonds issued directly in the capital market. SRFs play a key role in financing water and sanitation investments. There are two SRFs: The larger Clean Water State Revolving Fund, created in 1987, ^{[62] [63] [64]} and the smaller Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, created in 1997. ^[65] They receive federal and state contributions and issue bonds. In turn, they provide soft loans to utilities in their respective states, with average interest rates at 2% for up to 20 years in the case of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. In addition to the SRFs, the United States Department of Agriculture provides grants, loans and loan guarantees for water supply and sanitation in small communities (those with less than 10,000 inhabitants), together with technical assistance and training. ^[66]

State and local governments invested $28.5 billion in water supply and sanitation in 2005, split roughly half and half between water and sanitation. ^{[67] [68]} The United States Congress approved US$1.5 billion of federal funding for State Revolving Funds in 2008. This is a much below the historical average of US$3 billion/year for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (1987-2006) ^{[69] [70] [71]} and US$ 1.2 billion/year for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (1997-2005). ^[72] The share of federal funding for sanitation has declined from almost 50% in the early 1980s to about 20% in the early 1990s. ^[73]

Investment Gap In its Infrastructure Report Card the American Society of Civil Engineers gave both the U.S. drinking water and wastewater infrastructure a grade of D- in 2005, down from D in 2001. According to the report, "the nation's drinking water system faces a staggering public investment need to replace aging facilities, comply with safe drinking water regulations and meet future needs." ^[74] Investment needs are about $19 billion/year for sanitation and $14 billion/year for drinking water, totaling $33 billion/year. ^[75] This implies an investment gap of $4.5 billion/year. If tariff revenues remain constant in real terms, utilities face a funding gap of the same magnitude. However, the funding gap disappears if municipalities increase water and sanitation spending at a real rate of growth of three percent per year. ^[75] More specifically, concerning drinking water supply the EPA estimated in its 3rd Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey conducted in 2003 that $276.8 billion would have to be invested between 2003 and 2023. ^{[76] [77]} Concerning sanitation, the EPA estimated in its 14th Clean Watersheds Needs Survey of 2007 that investment of $202.5 billion is needed over the next 20 years to control wastewater pollution. This includes $134 billion for wastewater treatment and collection, $54.8 billing for resolving unsatisfactory combined sewer overflows and $9 billion for stormwater management. ^[78] The EPA needs surveys do not capture all investment needs, in particular concerning capital replacement. ^[75]

References

External links

• Environmental Protection Agency Drinking Water Page - EPA
• EPA Wastewater Permit Program - NPDES
• American Water Works Association (AWWA), the association of water supply professionals in the U.S. and Canada - AWWA
• Water Environment Federation (WEF), an association of professionals working on wastewater treatment and water quality protection - WEF
• Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the association of the largest publicly owned drinking water systems in the U.S. AMWA
• National Association of Clean Water Agencies - NACWA
• National Association of Water Companies - NAWC
• National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) - NARUC
• The United States Conference of Mayors - Urban Water
• Water Infrastructure Network
• List of and Links to State Public Utility/Service Commissions List of State Commissions at NARUC
• Americans for Pure Water:Water News Update
• Water and Sewer Distributors of America
• Documentary film:Liquid assets - the story of our water infrastructure
• The National Academies' Water Information Center:Drinking Water Basics