help me understand my water bill..

[mama2James]

I just got out first water bill that includes an entire quarter of us living in our new house. It was 104.70. We have a 1200 square foot house, three adults and one 3 yr old. 1-2 showers total a day on average, a couple baths a week for the kiddo. 1 load a day of laundry or so and a load of dishes in the dishwasher. We are not using any water from the outside taps. I know that water rates vary everywhere, so it's tough to compare...so I will break down the bill a bit. 10.00 is for a storm fee based on 2900 square feet (some measurement of outside I guess, for storm drainage?) 33.60 is for the water usage, and 61.10 is for the sewer. Both the water and sewer are based on a meter reading of "12" used for the quarter. i don't know what the unit of measure is though, it isn't indicated. On the bottom of the bill, it does note 100 CU. FT. equals 748 gals. Any input for me?

[McD]

I work for the water utility in my city, so I hope I can help you out a bit.

You said the bill is quarterly--so if you take that 104$ and divide by 3, it's coming out to about 34$ish dollars a month. For the city I live in (which I know every city bills differently), that's a fairly average bill. Our billing includes, water, trash, sewer.

The storm drainage fee isn't something that my city assesses, but I know a lot of places are beginning to do so. What that is is a charge assessed for the water from rainstorms, snow storms, running off your property into the city's sewer system. How it's calculated, I have no idea as it's not something we are assessed here.

My water utility bills in 1000 gallon increments. My best guess would be that your water consumption is billed the same way with the notation regarding cubic feet=gallons being for customers with older cubic feet meters. Your sewer charge will most likely be calculated using the same consumption as your water, unless you have an irrigation meter or anything like that.

The average person consumes 2000 gallons of water per month for all their needs--washing clothes, themselves, doing dishes, flushing stools etc. So if you have 3 adults, 1 kids in your home for the quarter and used only 12K of water, you really are doing great consumption-wise.

Here is what I would do if I were in your shoes--look at your water utilities website (if they have one) to see if it gives a better indication of how bills are calculated. If not, give the office a call on Monday. I would ask them what the water consumption rates are, as well as the sewer consumption rates. It strikes me as odd that your sewer charge is double what your water charge is, but every place bills differently. I would ask how consumption is measured--gallons, cubic feet, etc. I would also verify that an actual meter reading was obtained and that this is not an estimated bill.

Hope that helps.

[mama2James]

Thank you so much for that answer! It does help a lot. So that would mean that we used 12,000 gallons last quarter...4,000 a month for 4 people. Not too bad, if I do say so myself lol. I really appreciate the help. I will try to call the water people at some point soon, but their hours aren't great with my work schedule.

[Contrary Housewife]

Storm drainage is assessed on the amount of property you have that does not absorb water. Here is how our city figures it out:

----
There is hereby assessed a stormwater fee against every property owner within the city limits. The fee shall be based on the amount of surface (“runoff surface”) on a given property that prevents stormwater from being directly absorbed into the underlying ground. Such fees are to be computed and levied as follows:

(1) Fee structure. The stormwater fee is based upon the amount of runoff surface on a property, not an actual or theoretical stormwater runoff. The fee structure considers runoff surface to be an indicator of a property’s runoff contribution, but also considers the fixed costs of the stormwater utility, which benefit all properties in the city. Fixed costs include program administration as well as maintenance of the storm drainage and flood protection systems.

(2) Runoff surface. A “runoff surface” is an impervious
surface area that does not allow rain or snow melt to be directly absorbed into the underlying ground.

a. Runoff surfaces include, but are not limited to: Rooftops, asphalt or concrete driveways, patios, parking lots, tennis courts, swimming pools.

b. Runoff surfaces do not include:

1. Wood decks located above a pervious (dirt, grass or gravel) surface area; or

2. Gravel/rock areas such as: rocked landscaped areas, or driveways or parking lots not required to be paved pursuant to code section 52-35.

-----

So the 2600 ft calculation is probably your roof and driveway.

Personally, it steams me that I have to pay for them to collect the water off my property that they then sell back to me...

[frugalfranny]

Some educational info here........thanks for all the postings.

I also find it interesting when people talk about what they are paying for things in other parts of the country. The utility thing is always a gripe.....and always going higher. grrrrr

[dcompton]

Runoff surface. A “runoff surface” is an impervious
surface area that does not allow rain or snow melt to be directly absorbed into the underlying ground.

a. Runoff surfaces include, but are not limited to: Rooftops, asphalt or concrete driveways, patios, parking lots, tennis courts, swimming pools.


Swimming pools? The rain that lands in a pool doesn't go anywhere, does it? Doesn't it just stay there? It certainly doesn't run off into a street storm drain. Granted, it doesn't go into the ground immediately beneath it, but to say it increases runoff doesn't make sense.

Oh. I forgot. It's a utility company. Doesn't have to make sense.

[McD]

Runoff surface. A “runoff surface” is an impervious
surface area that does not allow rain or snow melt to be directly absorbed into the underlying ground.

a. Runoff surfaces include, but are not limited to: Rooftops, asphalt or concrete driveways, patios, parking lots, tennis courts, swimming pools.


Swimming pools? The rain that lands in a pool doesn't go anywhere, does it? Doesn't it just stay there? It certainly doesn't run off into a street storm drain. Granted, it doesn't go into the ground immediately beneath it, but to say it increases runoff doesn't make sense.

Oh. I forgot. It's a utility company. Doesn't have to make sense.

Eventually, most pools get drained--whether it's on a yearly basis or for repairs. I don't have a pool and have never thought to ask anyone that does--where would the water go? Do they just flood their yard with it? Hmmm...

[Greebo]

Pools fill up to a certain level, and anything else flows out, so they're assuming a pool is 100% full before it starts raining, I'd bet.

[dcompton]

Thanks for the info. I guess I think of pools as keeping water, not getting rid of water. Clearly, I have never have to manage one.

[Contrary Housewife]

Swimming pools? The rain that lands in a pool doesn't go anywhere, does it? Doesn't it just stay there? It certainly doesn't run off into a street storm drain. Granted, it doesn't go into the ground immediately beneath it, but to say it increases runoff doesn't make sense.

Oh. I forgot. It's a utility company. Doesn't have to make sense.

They aren't counting what runs off. They are counting the area of your property that does not absorb rainwater.

"The fee shall be based on the amount of surface (“runoff surface”) on a given property that prevents stormwater from being directly absorbed into the underlying ground...

... The stormwater fee is based upon the amount of runoff surface on a property, not an actual or theoretical stormwater runoff. "

[Nana2two]

I would to get a bill every 3 months, we get ours monthly and rates have increased over the few months because they have put new water mains in ect.. so for water/sewer/trash/recycle is around $120 a month.I have stopped using the dishwasher. we do a load of laundry every other day.showers are less then 10 minutes.

[Thevail]

Our bill is $125 every 2 months.

It's about $62.50/month and that includes water, sewer, storm drains, watershed conservation efforts, and coastal monitoring.

[itlw8]

we do not have a stormwater bill but I would love to only pay 104 for 3 months water and sewer We pay $56 a month for both and our water usage is not that much.. Summer is more when I water the garden