Water bills in L.A. County are outpacing inflation, study finds

Average utility tab has climbed 60% from 2015 to 2025, UCLA researchers determine.

- BY IAN JAMES

AL SEIB Los Angeles Times A VIEW of farmland near Maricopa at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County where the California aqueduct brings water from the north.

Over the last decade, water bills in Los Angeles County have risen nearly 60% on average, outpacing inflation and adding to financial strain for low-income households, according to a UCLA report.

The researchers compared average costs for the same amount of drinking water in 2015 and 2025, and said the results show that water affordability is an escalating problem in Southern California.

“It is concerning that we have this trend of rates outpacing inflation,” said Edith de Guzman, a cooperative extension water researche at UCLA's Luskin Center for Innovation.

She and coauthors said several factors have led to higher water costs, including local decisions to upgrade aging water delivery systems and prepare for drought, and compliance with water quality rules.