[gruez]

> Since when has raising the price of anything changed anyone’s behavior?

Making water 2x more expensive probably isn't going to cause you to drink less water, but it might make you consider a variety of water conservation measures, like low flow showers, dishwashers, or low water landscaping.

[bombcar]

If your water bill is $100 is $200 really going to change what you do much? Unlikely, unless you're already poor.

[bumby]

This comment seems wildly out of touch. When a majority of Americans can't afford a $500 unexpected emergency expense[1][2], you think a $100 increase is trivial?

older: [1]https://www.cbsnews.com/news/most-americans-cant-afford-a-50...

pandemic related: [2]https://highlandsolutions.com/blog/survey-reveals-spending-h...

[bombcar]

The price of gas has doubled in a few months, and yet the roads seem as full of cars as ever. Some demand is effectively inelastic.

[bumby]

It's taken about 6 months to double, and there was about an 8%-10% drop in demand. That drop was from levels that were already substantially depressed from the pandemic.

I'd also wager that changes in demand of gasoline is muted because some people will still need gasoline to get groceries and to work, where irrigating one's lawn is luxury by comparison. When I turn off my irrigation, I see a drop of 60-70% water usage.

https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/weekly/gasoline.php

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=a...

https://ycharts.com/indicators/us_gasoline_station_sales

[yongjik]

Counterpoint: I'm making a comfortable living as a developer in California, and my wife also works. We don't exactly have a mansion or a personal airplane, but it's not like we're short of money, ever.

My wife will still be very angry if water bill goes up from $100 to $200.

Price anchoring is a really powerful tool: you can cut down plastic bag usage drastically by simply mandating that they should be sold at 10 cents.

[gruez]

A penny saved is a penny earned, so I'd definitely consider water conservation measures if water prices went up 100%.