Photo/Illutration Workers repair water pipes damaged by the Noto Peninsula earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 15. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Eighty-two water utilities across the nation raised rates this year by up to 37 percent, affecting more than 8 million people, an Asahi Shimbun study showed. It was the highest number of suppliers to do so during the past 10 years.

Rates are expected to rise more sharply in the years to come due to a decrease in revenues caused by the shrinking population and renewal costs for aging facilities.

Water is mainly supplied by municipal governments. There are about 1,200 utilities serving more than 5,000 residents.

In principle, suppliers are supposed to stand alone and cover costs with water charges without depending on taxpayers’ money.

Rates differ by area.

As of April 1, 2023, the national average for 20 cubic meters of water per month, roughly the amount used by a three-person household, stood at 3,343 yen ($23.72), up 234 yen from 10 years earlier.

The Asahi Shimbun analyzed data published by the Japan Water Works Association and interviewed prefectural government officials.

It found that about 520 utilities nationwide, or more than 30 percent of the total, raised rates between 2015 and 2024.

The rate hikes implemented by the 82 utilities in 32 prefectures this year ranged between 3 and 37 percent.

Those suppliers include Okayama city, Toyota city in Aichi Prefecture and the Kanagawa prefectural waterworks.

A utility in the Tohoku region expects annual payments there by a standard household will increase by 10,428 yen.

Waterworks systems were developed during the period of high economic growth from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, and many of them are coming up for renewal.

However, revenue from water charges has dropped off due to population decline and other factors, and profitability has worsened.

In fiscal 2022, 57 percent of water utilities were operating “below cost.”

Only about 40 percent of water mains can withstand an earthquake with an approximate intensity of upper 6 on the Japanese scale of 7.

After a magnitude-7.6 earthquake in the Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, the water supply was suspended for a prolonged period due to damage to facilities that were not earthquake-resistant.

Takuya Urakami, a professor of public utilities at Kindai University in Osaka Prefecture, said more water utilities, taking a cue from the damage caused by the Noto Peninsula earthquake, are likely to raise rates to fund costs to reinforce facilities against earthquakes in addition to renewals.

“Utilities need to improve management efficiency by integrating businesses, as well as consolidating and eliminating facilities, to curb large price hikes,” Urakami said.

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