Water crisis looms as California households struggle to pay bills
By Kurtis Alexander
Unpaid water bills are piling up across California as the pandemic continues to rage, leaving water agencies out hundreds of millions of dollars and nearly 1 in 8 families with rising debt — and worse, a possible water shut-off.
In the Bay Area alone, tens of thousands of households have missed a water payment recently. San Francisco reported more than three times as many delinquent water customers at the end of last year compared with March, shortly after the coronavirus pandemic began. That’s pushed the city’s total outstanding balance up six times what it was, to more than $7 million.