Voters Support Using Federal Funds to Help Low-Income Households Pay Water Bills
By Zach Hertz and Sabrina Jacobs
As the price of tap water has outpaced general inflation, water bills have become increasingly expensive, placing greater burdens on families that already struggle to afford their water bills. Research suggests that U.S. households in the bottom fifth of the economy spent an average of 12.4% of their disposable income on water and sewer services in 2019, a figure that has been steadily increasing in recent years.
To help households cover these costs, some have proposed expanding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides nutrition benefits to low-income families, to also cover water bills.
New Data for Progress polling illuminates disparities in access to clean drinking water and finds that a majority of voters support proposals to expand water benefits.
First, we find that many Americans struggle with water prices. Thirty-nine percent of voters, including 37% of Democrats, 39% of Independents, and 42% of Republicans, say they pay too much for their water bill each month, while 39% of voters say that they are paying the right amount.
Access to clean drinking water is a fundamental human right, yet many still lack access to safe water. A 2020 study found that more than a million Americans faced insecure water access and that people of color and low-income households are more likely to face water access issues. Voters across party lines perceive these persistent issues to be a problem. When asked to what extent they think access to clean, affordable drinking water is a problem in the United States today, 71% of voters respond either “a great deal” or “somewhat.”
Troublingly, SNAP recipients disproportionately face issues accessing clean water. We find that 42% of voters in SNAP households — meaning either themselves or someone in their household receives SNAP benefits — experience bad-tasting or foul-smelling tap water “occasionally” or “frequently,” compared with less than a quarter of voters in households that are not enrolled in SNAP.
Given the high rates at which they encounter bad-tasting or foul-smelling tap water, it is perhaps unsurprising that we also find that SNAP households are forced to rely on bottled water instead. When asked how they drink water at home, 37% of all likely voters say they drink bottled water from a store or delivery service, while 38% say they drink water filtered through a faucet at the sink, refrigerator, or pitcher. In sharp contrast, we find SNAP recipients are especially reliant on bottled water: 50% say their main source of water is store-bought bottles.
To help provide water assistance to low-income households while simultaneously investing government funds into improving local utilities, some experts have suggested expanding SNAP benefits to help cover water bills. For example, if a family pays $75 per month in water bills, this proposal would provide an additional SNAP benefit, alongside its existing SNAP benefit, to cover that cost. Even if a family does not pay its water bill directly, but rather through the rent, it would still be covered — this program would provide family members with an added SNAP benefit that is equal to the amount of their rent that is used to cover water bills.
We tested support for this proposal and find that 65% of voters support extending SNAP benefits to cover water bills. This includes 83% of Democrats, 61% of Independents, and 50% of Republicans. Voters who live in a SNAP household are especially supportive of this proposal. Eighty-five percent of voters living in a SNAP household support the measure, compared with 58% of voters not living in a SNAP household.
Allowing children and seniors to go without clean water is unacceptable. The federal government must provide a way for low-income families to afford this essential human right. Republicans are keen on making cuts to SNAP as a way to decrease federal spending, putting their own political agenda above families struggling to afford basic nutrition and water. Voters reject proposed cuts to food assistance programs and support extending SNAP to aid families that cannot afford their water bills.
Zachary Hertz (@zacharylhertz) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.
Sabrina Jacobs (@bri_jacobs) is a staff writer at Data for Progress.