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For something that we often think of as free, water is getting more expensive.

So says the national water news provider 

This year water bills rose about 6 percent on average -- faster than inflation -- as water utilities pay more for infrastructure, treatment and sometimes even the water itself.

That's actually a smaller increase than Circle of Blue has found in the past. What's interesting to me about the survey is the huge variation in water prices around the country -- and where Minnesota fits into the pattern.

, which we got into in a Q&A post a couple months ago.  Because it's a life necessity, most people would say you shouldn't have to pay a lot for a basic supply of water. But some argue that the price should be used a means of encouraging conservation.

In Santa Fe, New Mexico, the most expensive city that Circle of Blue surveyed, a family of four using 100 gallons a day per person (roughly the national average) has to pay more than $150 a month. You might think that makes sense in the drought-stricken West. But in Salt Lake City, Utah, the same amount of consumption costs the family only $27.

Some places with renowned water problems are surprisingly inexpensive --  in Las Vegas, where officials are desperately digging a new pipe to Lake Mead and searching for water rights hundreds of miles from the city, that same consumption costs you $42. Denver, which pulls water over the Rocky Mountains, charges $41. San Antonio, where they will replace your leaking toilet for free to save water, charges under $44 for that amount of water.

Those cities are all charging roughly the same amount as St. Paul, which Circle of Blue didn't include in its survey. For a family of four using 100 gallons per person per day, the bill in St. Paul is $43.64, according to information from St. Paul Regional Water Services. That's in the lower third of cities surveyed by Circle of Blue.

Minneapolis, also not included in the survey, charges more, $55.76, according to the city.

Water costs even more in the southwest Minnesota town of Marshall, where geology makes water more scarce than in much of Minnesota. That same 100 gallons daily consumption costs a Marshall family almost $61 a month in the summer, a few dollars less in winter.

Here's a sample of the monthly bills Circle of Blue calculated for a family of four using 100 gallons per person per day and how three Minnesota cities fit in. You can find lots more data over time and for different levels of consumption at 

Marshall is outstripping the national average in price increases. The rate is up 15 percent from last year and is set to rise another 8.5 percent in January, according to Marshall utilities general manager Brad Roos.

St. Paul saw big increases of nearly 10 percent in 2008 and 2009 and smaller increases since then. Minneapolis rates rose about 1 percent this year.

Neither Minneapolis nor St. Paul has tiered pricing, under which you pay more per gallon if you use more. The New York Times reported this week that in California, more cities are 

Dave Peters

Author

Water rates have been rising all over the country, but they vary widely from one city to another. Minneapolis is in the middle of the pack; St. Paul falls into the lower third of cities when it comes to the price of water.

Water costs rise, consumer bills vary widely by city

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