The table represents the proportion change in water rates by unit of consumption in five world cities over a 10-year period from 2000 to 2010 in comparison to the prices in 1990.
Overall, the water rates of most cities saw significant increase. Generally, some surpassed the 1990 prices while only one stayed below it.
In 2000, the water rates of Delhi stayed at slightly higher than 4%, before rising substantially to nearly 7%. In addition, the water rates of Seville also witnessed a sharp increase of approximately 2%, from just over 2% in 2000 to slightly over 4% in 2010. Moreover, that figure of Shanghai recorded the lowest increase compared to all other cities, with only 1% increase between 2000 and 2010, from 3% to 4%.
On the other hand, water rates of Osaka remained below the 1990 prices, with a moderate increase from -7% to -5%. Furthermore, while that figure of San Francisco stayed at -3% in 2000, it experienced a significant rise to 5% in 2010, approximately 8% increase over a period of 10 years.
