Reclamation Home

Reclamation Offices

Newsroom

Library

Projects & Facilities

Research Office

Economic Issues

Oddly enough, the some of the areas with the least expensive water rely on desalination to produce part of their supply!

Water treatment capital costs depend on the volume of water treated, the type of treatment process, location, ancillary equipment needed to bring water to the facility and deliver treated water to the customer.  Costs include location specific costs such as permitting, site development work, power connections, and waste management options.  Annual costs include amortization of capital cost, labor, power, chemicals, and maintenance items.  The cost of water is the amount a utility needs to charge to provide the service of water treatment and delivery.  The actual treatment cost is often a very small percentage of the cost of water. 

The most expensive water is bottled water from the corner gas station, movie theater, or airport vendor at $1.50 per half liter!  At that rate, your water bill for a family of four for a month would be $56,775 per month to supply 5,000 gallons of water.  The table lists current water costs for a number of cities that use various advanced water treatment processes for all or a portion of the water they deliver.  For ease of comparison, the cost for 5,000 gallons per month is included in the last column.

Desalting and

• Seawater Desalination Costs
• Seawater Desalination Power Consumption

Water Purification Research Program