User:Kerres/Sandboxx
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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 | |
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]