Water scarcity remains a concern for people around the world. In fact, a 2022 Gallup poll revealed that 57% of Americans worry more about safe drinking water than global warming, air pollution, or the extinction of animal species.
Americans are also using more water than ever before, according to J.D. Power. The combined water and sewer bill for a typical household in the U.S. has increased 54.8% since 2012. The data also found that 41% of customers say they do not feel the water provided by their local utility is safe to drink.
Don’t miss: Get paid to visit luxury hotels and spas around the world—here’s how
In August, J.D. Power ranked the states with the best and worst tap water based on its U.S. Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study. It measures satisfaction among residential customers from 92 water utilities, or companies, around the U.S. that deliver water to populations of at least 400,000.
Customers were asked to rate the quality of water in terms of taste, color, odor, hardness, and other factors on a scale of one to 10, with one being unacceptable and 10 being outstanding. The states were ranked based on responses from 32,833 residential water utility customers from June 2023 through March 2024.
Ramah Vaughn, director of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power, tells CNBC Make It that this year’s special report is different from last year’s version. Last year, the special report focused on asking customers about the reliability and quality of their water, and this year, it was solely focused on the quality.
