Water bill charges?

Recently my apartment complex decided that we residents would have to start paying our own water bills. Hopefully this isn’t too stupid a question, but what are the different charges for? My recent bill is a total of $27.81, with $7.71 for water, $15.42 for sewage, and $4.68 for garbage. The water part I get :slight_smile: but what are the other two and why is sewage so much more? Being a lifelong apartment dweller, these are the first water bills I’ve ever seen. Can you guys explain?

Dunno why there’s a garbage bill on there, but water is the stuff that comes out of the tap (or goes into the toilet, tub, etc) and sewage is the charge for cleaning up your nasty water as it leaves the apartment. Get charged coming in, get charged going out… Sewage costs more because it’s the bill for them to filter out the nasties and reclaim the H2O


“I guess it is possible for one person to make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”

One place that having separate water and sewer charges can help the homeowner: if you lived in a single-family dwelling and had the outside sprinkling system metered separately, you would not have to pay sewer on that line. The water goes onto the lawn and garden, so the city does not charge to clean it up.

Garbage? Do you have municipal trash pickup? Could your city be tacking their trash pickup bills onto their water bills as a “municipal services” invoice?


Tom~

That’s nothing. In my area, which I think has the highest water charge of all of the US except for Marin County, the water costs me about $15 plus service charges, another $16 per month.

PG&E isn’t much better [gas & elec] with $8.50 for elec and $15 service charge [or so whatever that is].

Okay I get it about the water and the sewage-thanks. We have four dumpsters placed around the complex where we haul our trash to- this is what the garbage charge is for? Sheesh-my rent went up $25 and now this water bill. Maybe I should look into moving. No one else I know pays a water bill in an apartment.
BTW-my parents own a home and their water bill is about $30 every three months. I dont take THAT many showers.