Wrong, USA Today, There’s No Evidence that Climate Change Will Cause Higher Water Bills
15 hours ago Anthony Watts 4 Comments
USA Today claims in “Your water bill could skyrocket due to climate change, study says” that hotter, drier conditions caused by global warming could double residential water bills across parts of the western United States. This is highly misleading. The article is built almost entirely on computer model projections of future drought rather than on observed drought trends, and it presents speculative scenarios as though they were inevitable.
Climate Realism has used the word scaremongering many times. Perhaps it’s time for a new word: scaremodeling.
Scaremodeling is what happens when speculative computer simulations are reported as established fact. A model predicts a future problem, another model estimates the economic consequences, and the media reports the worst-case outcome as though it is already unfolding. That is exactly what USA Today has done here.
The article opens by warning readers to “get ready to pay more for your water. A lot more.” It then cites a Stanford study claiming climate change could force expensive investments in desalination, recycled water systems, and water transfers that might double residential water bills in some communities.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/07/16/wrong-usa-today-theres-no-evidence-that-climate-change-will-cause-higher-water-bills/
