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Yikes, just got my water bill
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 2009-07-30 1:10 PM |
Pro  6838      Tejas |  Subject: Yikes, just got my water billRant on. $172.93 dollars for last month. Mrsmdg accidently left the water hose on the back side of the house running. Not sure how long either. Did I mention we were out of town for two whole weeks during this billing cycle. They tack on a sliding "improvement fee" that rises exponentially when you use a lot of water. It was 45 bucks. I'm happy camper right now. Rant off |
| 2009-07-30 1:33 PM in reply to: #2317686 |
| Veteran 738 | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill Down in Williamsburg (well, actually James City County) there is a fine for $1,000 if you water on a day you are not permitted. We also have those sliding fees for increased usage. Also, because Newport News owns our water (they pulled a Louisiana purchase on us), we pay 1x for the water, and a nearly identical 1x for the delivery via the pipes. On the same bill is the sewage/wastewater treatment of about another 1/2x. My first quarterly water bill was about $500 when I moved into my home 2 years ago. Since then, with less watering and a sprinkler submeter, quarterlies are down to about $125-$150. Needless to say I only water when it is absolutely necessary and I use rain barrels for the garden and landscaped shrubs and flowers (the county basically paid for my rain barrels with rebates). |
| 2009-07-30 1:36 PM in reply to: #2317686 |
Extreme Veteran 3177 | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill My Utility bill, which includes trash, water, and sewar came to 140 bucks this period (2 months). Actually less than most people simply because my wife and I have some pretty strict water rules. (if it's brown flush it down, if its yellow let it mellow etc...) and the biggest water usage we have is when my wife takes the occassional bath. Leaving a hose on would really suck! |
| 2009-07-30 1:41 PM in reply to: #2317686 |
Extreme Veteran 785 Indiana | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill I have filled our 8100 gallon pool 3 summers in a row and have yet to see our bill go up significantly. I'm talking around 5 bucks more than our usual bill. |
| 2009-07-30 2:47 PM in reply to: #2317787 |
| Veteran 738 | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill kiwi4j - 2009-07-30 2:41 PM I have filled our 8100 gallon pool 3 summers in a row and have yet to see our bill go up significantly. I'm talking around 5 bucks more than our usual bill. That's like having a well. Lucky you. |
| 2009-07-30 5:26 PM in reply to: #2317753 |
Extreme Veteran 3177 | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill crazyyella - 2009-07-30 11:33 AM Down in Williamsburg (well, actually James City County) there is a fine for $1,000 if you water on a day you are not permitted. We also have those sliding fees for increased usage. Also, because Newport News owns our water (they pulled a Louisiana purchase on us), we pay 1x for the water, and a nearly identical 1x for the delivery via the pipes. On the same bill is the sewage/wastewater treatment of about another 1/2x. My first quarterly water bill was about $500 when I moved into my home 2 years ago. Since then, with less watering and a sprinkler submeter, quarterlies are down to about $125-$150. Needless to say I only water when it is absolutely necessary and I use rain barrels for the garden and landscaped shrubs and flowers (the county basically paid for my rain barrels with rebates). I tried looking into rainwater barrels but when I did some research on it last year I ran into a bunch of rules for my area which basically came down to rain = water = public property to be collected from the aquapher and rivers, treated, and the pumped back to my house for me to use to water my garden...I believe that legally we are allowed to have one like 10 gallon rain barrell (or bucket as I call it). I am not sure if this rule is actually enforced or if they would notice a drop in water resources available if everyone started getting 50 gallon rain barrels to collect runnoff in but I found it entertaining. This was all last year that I looked so the details are a little fuzzy in this case. |
| 2009-07-30 5:33 PM in reply to: #2318316 |
Master 1420 Victoria, BC | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill I haven't gotten my bill yet ... but my hot water tank burst and was gushing freely for the better part of a day before I got home ... AND a few weeks ago I accidentally left the hose on overnight (I had turned the watering gun/attachment off, but forgot to turn the tap off - the pressure ruptured the hose and it too was gushing freely) ... I'm NOT looking forward to my water bill. |
| 2009-07-31 12:42 AM in reply to: #2317686 |
Master 2665 The Whites, New Hampshire | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill Aaaahhh, the joys of living in the country. No water bill. Of course, no internet at home, either, but I digress... |
| 2009-07-31 1:05 AM in reply to: #2317686 |
Expert 805 Portland,OR | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill mdg2003 - 2009-07-30 11:10 AM Rant on. $172.93 dollars for last month. Mrsmdg accidently left the water hose on the back side of the house running. Not sure how long either. Did I mention we were out of town for two whole weeks during this billing cycle. They tack on a sliding "improvement fee" that rises exponentially when you use a lot of water. It was 45 bucks. I'm happy camper right now. Rant off That sucks huge, but I'll do you one better. When we moved in to our house two years ago I moved up all of our furniture but then went back down to So Cal for 45 days to finish up my work. When I got back to the new house it seems that a shaving mirror I had put up in the shower had fallen and turned on the hot water faucet!! According to the water records, it likely ran for 24hrs a day for most of that 45 days. My first quarterly bill was close to $700. And this was just as I was starting grad school and no longer had a steady income. We've improved dramatically though, this quarter even with extra summer watering it was only about $110. |
| 2009-07-31 7:54 AM in reply to: #2317686 |
Master 1402 Cumming, Georgia | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill I'm not looking forward to my water bill this month. One of the automatic heads on our sprinkler stopped working but I can still manually turn it on and it works. So I disabled that zone on the timer and would jsut go out around 9:00 PM and manually turn it on. I forgot it was on and off to bed I went. Woke up the next morning and opened the garage door and saw the stream of water flowing down the street. The yard was completely soaked. Hopefully it is not as bad as yours. |
| 2009-07-31 8:20 AM in reply to: #2318316 |
| Veteran 738 | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill bel83 - 2009-07-30 6:26 PM I tried looking into rainwater barrels but when I did some research on it last year I ran into a bunch of rules for my area which basically came down to rain = water = public property to be collected from the aquapher and rivers, treated, and the pumped back to my house for me to use to water my garden...I believe that legally we are allowed to have one like 10 gallon rain barrell (or bucket as I call it). I am not sure if this rule is actually enforced or if they would notice a drop in water resources available if everyone started getting 50 gallon rain barrels to collect runnoff in but I found it entertaining. This was all last year that I looked so the details are a little fuzzy in this case. That is insane and probably totally unenforceable. How can they determine that all rain is theirs? Anyway, 10 gallons is nothing...you couldn't do much with that. I have 4-60 gallon rain barrels...but my county has incentives to reduce sprinkler usage by getting either rain barrels or cisterns to use for plants, shrubs, whatever. I can't water my grass with those barrels, but I can get my 10x12 garden and all the young trees, plants, and bushes that I have landscaped for 2-3 weeks. |
| 2009-07-31 11:00 AM in reply to: #2317686 |
Master 1790 Tyler, TX | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill My water company once gave me a big discount because my water "use" went way up due to a broken pipe. I don't recall if I had to prove it with a plumbers bill or not. It might be worth telling them that your water use was due to an accident/stupidity and they might give you a break. It's at least worth a phone call. |
| 2009-07-31 11:06 AM in reply to: #2319550 |
Resident Curmudgeon 25290 The Road Back Gold member | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill famelec - 2009-07-31 11:00 AM My water company once gave me a big discount because my water "use" went way up due to a broken pipe. I don't recall if I had to prove it with a plumbers bill or not. It might be worth telling them that your water use was due to an accident/stupidity and they might give you a break. It's at least worth a phone call. I sit on a local water board, we get this all the time, and as a matter of policy we do not grant "stupidity" relief. It's not like the water used/wasted is without cost. Still, policies vary, and it doesn't hurt to ask. |
| 2009-07-31 11:15 AM in reply to: #2319550 |
Master 1420 Victoria, BC | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill famelec - 2009-07-31 9:00 AM My water company once gave me a big discount because my water "use" went way up due to a broken pipe. I don't recall if I had to prove it with a plumbers bill or not. It might be worth telling them that your water use was due to an accident/stupidity and they might give you a break. It's at least worth a phone call. Here - and I stress *here* - they will reverse part of the charges if the water pipe damage/break is on their property - ie: the pipe leading to my house, but still outside my property lines .. but if it's inside my property lines - all my responsibility. |
| 2009-07-31 12:12 PM in reply to: #2317686 |
Extreme Veteran 574 Crossville, TN | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill I had a water line crack where it came into my house. I didn't know it until I saw water running out my crawl space....water was about 4" deep at the crawl space door but the house is built on a slanted lot. My bill was $560.00 and the late charge was $220.00. They adjusted it down to $125.00. I told them I would make payments until they said they couldn't wave the late charge. Needless to say I found the $125.00 to pay the bill. |
| 2009-07-31 12:18 PM in reply to: #2319550 |
Pro 6838 Tejas | Subject: RE: Yikes, just got my water bill famelec - 2009-07-31 11:00 AM My water company once gave me a big discount because my water "use" went way up due to a broken pipe. I don't recall if I had to prove it with a plumbers bill or not. It might be worth telling them that your water use was due to an accident/stupidity and they might give you a break. It's at least worth a phone call. We're talking about BexarMet here Brian! I don't want to bring it to their attention. They might try to fine me for violating stage II restrictions. |
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