wtf is wrong with my water bill??

[zixxer]

water = 12.30
cost of basic service = 6.00
sewer = 23.46
street light = 3.50

total 45.26


I didn't know sewage was as much as water... that's crazy!

(previous reading 249, current reading 255a, consumption 6)

 

[Eli]

It's not like we're going to understand your bill.

255 what? Units? How many gallons is in a unit?

We use about 10,000 gallons every 60 days here, and it costs about 25$.

 

[rh71]

that's ridiculous. We don't have add-on charges on our water bill. It's like $7.50 for 3 months. That's 6000 gallons in 3 months according to our bill.

We're punched out to the sewer system just the same.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: armatron
water = 12.30
cost of basic service = 6.00
sewer = 23.46
street light = 3.50

total 45.26


I didn't know sewage was as much as water... that's crazy!

(previous reading 249, current reading 255a, consumption 6)

they're generally very close ('least mine have). They have to get the water to your house, and then take it away...gotta go somewhere.

This is why you have a separate water meter for watering your lawn...don't have to pay sewage on it, just the water.

And you're getting off easy. I've had 180 dollar water bills during the summer.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Eli
It's not like we're going to understand your bill.

255 what? Units? How many gallons is in a unit?

We use about 10,000 gallons every 60 days here, and it costs about 25$.

How the hell do you use 166+ gallons per day?

 

[Kelemvor]

What's a street light have to do with a water bill?\

Our water bill is measured in 100s of gallons and we get billed quarterly so that'd be 25,500 if that was our bill...

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Eli
It's not like we're going to understand your bill.

255 what? Units? How many gallons is in a unit?

We use about 10,000 gallons every 60 days here, and it costs about 25$.

How the hell do you use 166+ gallons per day?

Hmm.. That's a good question.

lemme get my water bill.. lol

From 3/12 to 5/12, we used 11 Units. One unit is 748 gallons of water, 8228 gallons... or about 134 gallons a day.

Current bill is $24.86, heh.

Our highest month was 9/12/03 .. I wonder what we were doing to use so much water then. It wasn't even summer or anything.

We used some 18 units, 13464 gallons in 64 days. :Q

I guess 134 gallons a day seems like a lot, but when you take into account toilet flushes at 4-5 gallons each * 3 people.. and showers * 3 people... it adds up quick.

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Eli
It's not like we're going to understand your bill.

255 what? Units? How many gallons is in a unit?

We use about 10,000 gallons every 60 days here, and it costs about 25$.

How the hell do you use 166+ gallons per day?

Hmm.. That's a good question.

lemme get my water bill.. lol

From 3/12 to 5/12, we used 11 Units. One unit is 748 gallons of water, 8228 gallons... or about 134 gallons a day.

Current bill is $24.86, heh.

Our highest month was 9/12/03 .. I wonder what we were doing to use so much water then. It wasn't even summer or anything.

We used some 18 units, 13464 gallons in 64 days. :Q

Call the water company and ask. Mention that you might have someone leeching off your water line. (hey, it happens, same as cable) Once you bring up the possibility of someone getting free water they'll be out there like a shot.

You might also have a leaky toilet or something similar. It could be really bad and you've got a broken underground pipe which is pouring water into the sewer or the local water table. Tree roots can do that easy.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Eli
I guess 134 gallons a day seems like a lot, but when you take into account toilet flushes at 4-5 gallons each * 3 people.. and showers * 3 people... it adds up quick.

I guess it is possible if each person flushes the toilet at least 6 times per day and takes at least a 20 minute shower everyday.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: yukichigai

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Eli
It's not like we're going to understand your bill.

255 what? Units? How many gallons is in a unit?

We use about 10,000 gallons every 60 days here, and it costs about 25$.

How the hell do you use 166+ gallons per day?

Hmm.. That's a good question.

lemme get my water bill.. lol

From 3/12 to 5/12, we used 11 Units. One unit is 748 gallons of water, 8228 gallons... or about 134 gallons a day.

Current bill is $24.86, heh.

Our highest month was 9/12/03 .. I wonder what we were doing to use so much water then. It wasn't even summer or anything.

We used some 18 units, 13464 gallons in 64 days. :Q

Call the water company and ask. Mention that you might have someone leeching off your water line. (hey, it happens, same as cable) Once you bring up the possibility of someone getting free water they'll be out there like a shot.

You might also have a leaky toilet or something similar. It could be really bad and you've got a broken underground pipe which is pouring water into the sewer or the local water table. Tree roots can do that easy.

Our water bill has always been around 25$/mo, besides that one mentioned discrepancy. Water usage has actually gone down in the last couple of billing periods, although it looks like it's starting to come up again with the summer months.

We don't have any close neighbors, so unless they're tapping the main line.. lol

Leaks are a possibility, though. I'll do the toilet test(food coloring in tank) to see if it's slow leaking.

At $0.30/100 gallons, I don't think we're too concerned..

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Eli
I guess 134 gallons a day seems like a lot, but when you take into account toilet flushes at 4-5 gallons each * 3 people.. and showers * 3 people... it adds up quick.

I guess it is possible if each person flushes the toilet at least 6 times per day and takes at least a 20 minute shower everyday.

I am sure the toilet flushes much more than 6 times per day.

My dad takes a ~25 minute shower every day, and my girlfriend and I each take ~30 minute showers every other day. Plus washing the dishes(water just runs), and laundry.. seems about right really...

It's so cheap, I don't know how worth the effort conservation efforts would be. I suppose if we got a low-volume flush toilet and a low-flow shower head, we might be able to cut it down a bit.. but it'd take years to recoup the costs, lol.

 

[yukichigai]

The leechpipe could have been installed ages ago. I'm sure that's happened in the past: original owners leave, new owners move in, eventually they discover a discrepancy in the bills and after some investigating find a decades-old pipe coming from their place to an equally-clueless neighbor's.

Anyway armatron, if you're worried about your bill I suggest you ask the water company yourself. More often than not I've found they're happy to locate any leaks you might have. Not sure why exactly, but they are.

 

[rahvin]

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Eli
I guess 134 gallons a day seems like a lot, but when you take into account toilet flushes at 4-5 gallons each * 3 people.. and showers * 3 people... it adds up quick.

I guess it is possible if each person flushes the toilet at least 6 times per day and takes at least a 20 minute shower everyday.

Do you wash food? Brush your teeth? Consume any water? Water a lawn?

For reference the average per capita water demand used for the design of distribution and sewerage systems in the US is 165gpcd (gallons per capita per day, this estimate includes the commerical, industrial, public and loss values associated with the system). If the poster in question is using 135gpd with 3 people he is FAR below the national average. (Residential usage is 75-130gpcd).

 

[psydancerqt]

i'm glad water is included in the rent.. one less thing!

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: rahvin

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Eli
I guess 134 gallons a day seems like a lot, but when you take into account toilet flushes at 4-5 gallons each * 3 people.. and showers * 3 people... it adds up quick.

I guess it is possible if each person flushes the toilet at least 6 times per day and takes at least a 20 minute shower everyday.

Do you wash food? Brush your teeth? Consume any water? Water a lawn?

For reference the average per capita water demand used for the design of distribution and sewerage systems in the US is 165gpcd (gallons per capita per day, this estimate includes the commerical, industrial, public and loss values associated with the system). If the poster in question is using 135gpd with 3 people he is FAR below the national average. (Residential usage is 75-130gpcd).

That's nice to know. It did sound like a lot at first, but the more I thought about it, the more correct it seemed.. a gallon of water isn't really very much, and between washing dishes, flushing the toilet, shaving/showering, etc.. it really adds up.

So you're saying the average for 3 people would be 225 - 390gpd? :Q

 

[rahvin]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: rahvin

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Eli
I guess 134 gallons a day seems like a lot, but when you take into account toilet flushes at 4-5 gallons each * 3 people.. and showers * 3 people... it adds up quick.

I guess it is possible if each person flushes the toilet at least 6 times per day and takes at least a 20 minute shower everyday.

Do you wash food? Brush your teeth? Consume any water? Water a lawn?

For reference the average per capita water demand used for the design of distribution and sewerage systems in the US is 165gpcd (gallons per capita per day, this estimate includes the commerical, industrial, public and loss values associated with the system). If the poster in question is using 135gpd with 3 people he is FAR below the national average. (Residential usage is 75-130gpcd).

That's nice to know. It did sound like a lot at first, but the more I thought about it, the more correct it seemed.. a gallon of water isn't really very much, and between washing dishes, flushing the toilet, shaving/showering, etc.. it really adds up.

So you're saying the average for 3 people would be 225 - 390gpd? :Q

On average yes. Remeber water usage isn't just want you drink or flush, as has been mentioned it includes a lot of stuff you don't think about. This is why by simply turning off the water while you brush you can cut your water usage by a gallon a day (at least before low flow taps the average sink would put out a gallon of water in about the 2 min it takes to brush your teeth), if everyone turns it off while brushing vast quantities of water are saved.

Locally they have restricted sprinkler usage to the lower evaporation times of the day (10am-6pm).

 

[Homerboy]

please tell me thats per month bill right?
My quarterly is $83

 

[TechnoKid]

Originally posted by: yukichigai


Anyway armatron, if you're worried about your bill I suggest you ask the water company yourself. More often than not I've found they're happy to locate any leaks you might have. Not sure why exactly, but they are.

Yeha, i've found this to be true also, I think they are concerned about water leaks because they have to worry about water supply for the whole community, and the less water water they have, the more water they have availible to everyone else. Plus, less water usage overall means more reserves and less water to process at the pumping station, so less costs for the water company.

 

[fredtam]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: rahvin

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Eli
I guess 134 gallons a day seems like a lot, but when you take into account toilet flushes at 4-5 gallons each * 3 people.. and showers * 3 people... it adds up quick.

I guess it is possible if each person flushes the toilet at least 6 times per day and takes at least a 20 minute shower everyday.

Do you wash food? Brush your teeth? Consume any water? Water a lawn?

For reference the average per capita water demand used for the design of distribution and sewerage systems in the US is 165gpcd (gallons per capita per day, this estimate includes the commerical, industrial, public and loss values associated with the system). If the poster in question is using 135gpd with 3 people he is FAR below the national average. (Residential usage is 75-130gpcd).

That's nice to know. It did sound like a lot at first, but the more I thought about it, the more correct it seemed.. a gallon of water isn't really very much, and between washing dishes, flushing the toilet, shaving/showering, etc.. it really adds up.

So you're saying the average for 3 people would be 225 - 390gpd? :Q

Yep, when we bill our tenants the average water usage is between 8000-10000 gallons per month.

 

[Mill]

Sewer is more than water out here, but I'm on a septic tank.

 

[WHipLAsh13]

Get yourself a new toilet. The new ones only use 1.6 gallons per flush as per new laws. Found that out when last month when I re did my bathroom and was looking for a 5 gallon toilet like the one I currently had.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: WHipLAsh13
Get yourself a new toilet. The new ones only use 1.6 gallons per flush as per new laws. Found that out when last month when I re did my bathroom and was looking for a 5 gallon toilet like the one I currently had.

Yea my last apartmnet had the less water ones and worked fine.

Then I moved to a older complex here in Raleigh and they have the old ones, DAMM they use a lot of water. I even adjusted teh float to Min. and it still uses at least 3 to 4 gallons