GAAAH! What's *your* water bill? *update with next bill, lol*

[Bonnie]

Especially Texas mommas...

I just got my first full water bill in this house. I think I'm going to start rationing showers. :shifty And there's a "system improvement fee" that I imagine is probably similar to other water companies' miscellaneous stuff I've seen before, but over $50?? The last time I had water bills to pay, I think they totaled something like $50. This bill is for just over $200! This next pay period is going to be very very tight anyway, due to a quirk in our mortgage schedule...please pray I get some serious joy on Craigslist this week. :-/



Update with February bill: :phew I reeeeally didn't know what to expect after that monster, but I just got my next bill, and it's for $23.44. Thank goodness! That doesn't cover the sewer portion, that's with yet a different company :rolleyes but I'm soooo relieved.

[Iveyrock]

Especially Texas mommas...

I just got my first full water bill in this house. I think I'm going to start rationing showers. :shifty And there's a "system improvement fee" that I imagine is probably similar to other water companies' miscellaneous stuff I've seen before, but over $50?? The last time I had water bills to pay, I think they totaled something like $50. This bill is for just over $200! This next pay period is going to be very very tight anyway, due to a quirk in our mortgage schedule...please pray I get some serious joy on Craigslist this week. :-/

:jawdrop mine is 75-85, and we play water in the back yard a LOT. (although we don't actually water the yard, ever...)

[klpmommy]

wow, $200 is a lot. Mine has been around $100 which is a lot IMO.

Call the city water dept & see if they can give you an idea of what is a normal water bill for your neighborhood. However, I just called my step dad in SA & he said his was high at $100, esp this time of year when you don't have to water the yard.

So, I bet you have a leak someplace. A running toilet? A drippy faucet? Do you have a sprinkler system that might have a broken head? I know it's new construction, but that just means that most any water problem may be covered by your warranty.

---------- Post added at 01:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:47 PM ----------

one other thing, did they read the meter or estimate it?

[cindergretta]

For how many months?? (Gonna go look mine up, tho I am not in Tx... )

BRB

[KatieMae]

Yeah, I'd search for leaks - $200 sounds WAY out of line!

[MomtoJGJ]

wow... maybe there's a start up fee or something?

Our water and electric is together and it's right around 200. Water is about 70ish (we have water/sewer/storm drains and I find the storm drains to be really irritating... please please do punish me for it raining....)

Maybe call and ask if that's average for the area, or ask your neighbors....

[Gentle Journey]

I just payed mine. I have it right in front of me, so I'll share.

It was $148.34 for both electricity and water (we heat with gas).

Water was broken down like this:

Water charges $24.99
Water meter charge $0.55
Sanitary sewer system charge $25.54
Storm drainage charge $10.69
Total water charges $61.77

It's often as high as $75 though. I don't even like paying $60, I couldn't imagine $200:jawdrop

[cindergretta]

Is that just water consumption? We have 3 different water charges on our bill - consumption, waste water, and surface water. (I'm not actually sure what they all are. :scratch But the last 2 stay the same - no variance.)

So it *looks* like we average around $90 per month, for all 3. Or, depending on season, $30-40 per month is water consumption.

Did any of that make sense? :bag

[allisonintx]

We pay about 170/mo but our city is known for the obscene water and sewage costs.

One city over my same usage would be 1/3 that.

[StumblinMama]

:jawdrop Check for leaks. That is way high. Even when I lived in a city with massive sewer fees, my bill was rarely over $75 or $80.

ETA: Is there any chance part of that bill includes a connection fee or deposit that you weren't aware of?

[Aerynne]

Mine's around $60 in the winter, $150 in the summer (we have .19 acres on a corner lot- lots of grass to water. Hoping to change that soon- do some xeriscaping or something). The minimum water bill for where I live is $60 for some reason, even if you use no water. Part of that includes a public safety fee (what that is I have no idea) and a park fee.

I would talk to your neighbors and find out what their water bills are. That will give you a much better idea than talking to people all over the country.

[Bonnie]

I wonder if the fact that we had sod installed and watered it daily for a couple weeks would explain some of that. :doh

Dang.

[klpmommy]

I wonder if the fact that we had sod installed and watered it daily for a couple weeks would explain some of that. :doh

Dang.

bingo.

OTOH, if you didn't water it like that you would have dead sod.

[Bonnie]

Yeah. :sigh

Come on, Craigslist. :shifty

[passthemanna]

Ours is usually around $30- we live just north of Austin

[cindergretta]

I wonder if the fact that we had sod installed and watered it daily for a couple weeks would explain some of that. :doh

Dang.

:spit :giggle That might just do it!! :hug

[StumblinMama]

Yup. That's your answer. Plus if your area has a high sewer rate that would make even more sense. One town we lived in the sewer rate was higher than the water rate! Plus, you would still get charged sewer rates for watering lawns and filling swimming pools. :mad
I've heard that it has been changed since then and you can have some sort of special meter used while you fill your pool so that you won't get charged sewer rate for that amount.

[PurpleButterfly]

Our water bill is insane - $600 during summer months, around $250-ish the rest of the year. We thought there were leaks or a bad meter, had all sorts of stuff investigated and replaced, then found out everyone in the neighborhood has the same kind of bill. Apparently the city has different rates for different neighborhoods, based on home values, and we get to be the lucky ones who pay for success and hard work. :neutral

[WanderingJuniper]

Yeah, watering would do it. We didn't think about it when we first moved here and Bart washed both of our cars one weekend. Oops! Other than things like that our bill averages about $40-45/mo.

[milkmommy]

Our current bill is at $216 :-/ (its been between $200-$260) we get billed every other month.

Deanna

[Epieikeia]

Nebraska---I pay 65-75 every 2 months....I would freak over a 200 dollar water bill....:hug2

[joystrength]

$60ish --- including water/trash/sewer

[Bonnie]

That sod had better look good, come Spring. :shifty

[Drew]

~$90 quarterly for water and sewer. I'm a little :jawdrop at what you guys are paying.

Our water bill is insane - $600 during summer months, around $250-ish the rest of the year. We thought there were leaks or a bad meter, had all sorts of stuff investigated and replaced, then found out everyone in the neighborhood has the same kind of bill. Apparently the city has different rates for different neighborhoods, based on home values, and we get to be the lucky ones who pay for success and hard work. :neutral

That's just crazy. :(

[JellyBean]

Ouch! I can't imagine paying as much as some of you do for water! We have MUD tax so basically part of our utilities is taken out in our property taxes. Then we pay around $40 every 3 months.

[mollobe]

We're in NE TX and ours averages about $30/month for meter readings. There's no other fees on the bill besides a .28 cent "TCEQ Assessment," whatever that is. :shrug3

[Weezie]

Whoa. Our's (in Wi) for this past quarter due on the 20th of this month is totalling 73.92
32.68 water
27.98 sewer
1.00 household hazardous waste
12.26 storm water (heavy rains Christmas Eve)

A bit more in summer when we have the sprinkling system running for the grass, but that's pretty much it.

[BriansLovie]

Ours is $45, including sewer and garbage :shifty

[NovelMama]

Between all the fees and add-ons they put on our water bill, it's about $75 a month before we even use a drop of water. But we have unrenewable aquifers, and a lot of those extras are how they're raising money to build a new water system for us, since the aquifers will be drained in ten years or something like that.

[milkmommy]

Between all the fees and add-ons they put on our water bill,
Same here
$82.58 on my current bill is taxes sewer fee enviromental fees trash collection ect things that can't be changed. Our water alone is around $60 a month we have some automatic sprinklers installed and because it is a rental have zero controll over there use.. (rental includes a gardener that deals with it) but rent is quite reasonable for the home we have soo :shrug3

Deanna

[Mama Calidad]

Try calling the company and telling them that you had sod installed. They may reduce the sewer portion of the bill, since obviously all that water wasn't using the sewer system. I know some companies in the past have routinely done that.

Personally, we pay about $5/month during the winter months and $10/month during the summer months for all the water we can manage to go through. You get what you pay for, though. The water coming through our tap is non-potable. :giggle

[Bonnie]

Try calling the company and telling them that you had sod installed. They may reduce the sewer portion of the bill, since obviously all that water wasn't using the sewer system. I know some companies in the past have routinely done that.

Personally, we pay about $5/month during the winter months and $10/month during the summer months for all the water we can manage to go through. You get what you pay for, though. The water coming through our tap is non-potable. :giggle

Our sewer bill is through yet another company. :rolleyes

[Pragmatist]

Ours runs about $80/month in the winter and $90 in the summer. I thought ours was high, but I guess not. We are paying for a reservoir that is currently being built.

[mirandagrate]

Ours was $90-100 at our old house. We had "sewer debt fee" tacked on to ours... basically we were paying for the city putting in grinders and sewer junk that NEVER worked and always backed up. Once we moved out of city limits our water bill hasn't been over $30.

[SouthPaw]

I wonder if the fact that we had sod installed and watered it daily for a couple weeks would explain some of that.

I'm sorry, but I snort-laughed when I read this. YES. yes. that would be it :P~

[Cookie Momster]

Ours is usually approx. $15/month. That's the base rate and we are allocated so many gallons per month and we rarely go over that. It can get as high as $30/month if we water the grass a lot. We live in deep south Texas.

[Bonnie]

I'm sorry, but I snort-laughed when I read this. YES. yes. that would be it :P~

:P~

[CrunchySeaSalt]

50 monthly, we dont water lawns or have a pool, the bills are just like that here.

PLUS we have a sewer bill of 80 every 3 months

[Bonnie]

:phew Updating OP.

[backtobasicsmum]

:phew

[klpmommy]

i want yr water bill....mine has been around $100, but that includes sewer & trash

[Bonnie]

With sewer and trash, I think it's probably about ... 80.