Increasing Water Affordability through a Statewide Customer Assistance Program in California
Date
2023-04-28
Author
Advisors
Doyle, Martin
Patterson, Lauren
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Abstract
California has adopted a statewide policy where “every human being has the right to
clean, safe, affordable, and accessible water.” Yet having the right to clean and
affordable water is not the same as having clean and affordable water. Customer assistance
programs (CAP) can offer financial relief and bridge the gap to making water more
affordable for everyone. Many water utilities offer rebates, subsidies, high bill
adjustments, and other financial programs to help offset the cost of water utility
bills. While these programs vary by water supplier, California legislators have introduced
a statewide water rate assistance program. However, this bill was ultimately vetoed
by the governor due to a lack of sustainable funding source. Regardless, water affordability
remains an important issue and this project analyzes different options for a statewide
CAP, quantifies how much it would cost, and evaluate if it is affordable for low-income
households.
Type
Master's projectDepartment
Nicholas School of the EnvironmentPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/27244Citation
Lee, Jennifer (2023). Increasing Water Affordability through a Statewide Customer Assistance Program in
California. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/27244.Collections
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