# Water Charges **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 9, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536 "2021-02-09T16:25:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/41 "2021-02-10T22:39:52Z")
I’m drawing a total blank on what we pay in NYC, I think maybe $1200 a year. Our second house, in the upper midwest is about $55 a month and covers water, sewage, garbage, mosquito control, and $5 is for running our sump pump to the indoor sewage during the winter. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/42 "2021-02-10T22:46:17Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > So, big variations and there seems to be no correlation between scarcity and price. I’m not sure what I pay, but about 70% of the bill is for sewer. If I ran a second line and had a second meter for “outdoor water” that water would cost a great deal less than the “indoor water”. I don’t use enough outdoor water for it to be worth the plumbing costs to do that, but my neighbors, whose pipes were laid differently to begin with, and who didn’t have to run all new pipe through the house, did so. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/43 "2021-02-10T23:19:49Z")
75usd a month for water sewer trash, plus an additional 15usd/month if I want to hook into the plumbed irrigation system and use non-potable water for my yard. That’s 15 every m9nth and the irrigation water is only turned on part of the year. That is pretty new, the city installed that just a couple of years ago. Probably more about water rights than any environmental concerns. Anyway, my water bill does break out how the billing works. I get billed for a set amount of water(can’t remember and don’t have a bill in front of me) whether I use that amount or not. Yes, I have a meter, and it even has a wifi thingy so the meter reader doesn’t have to actually have to read the meter directly. I get billed more if I use more. I’m not sure, but I think they bill by neighborhood or something, like they do with the trash. Take the average and divvy it up between the houses in a given area. I’d consider fighting city hall, but, that bunch is…almost like a family. ---
**Author:** ![FastDan1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fastdan1/32/427_2.png) [@FastDan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FastDan1)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/44 "2021-02-10T23:58:50Z")
Water 24.51 Wastewater 26.41 Garbage/Recycling 21.42 Sales Tax 1.77 Total 74.11 Very minimal landscape watering this month. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/45 "2021-02-11T04:56:51Z")
I had to do some math, because I’m in a condo and the water is bundled. However, the water/sewer comes to 12.5% of the total HoA budget. Fractionally, then, I spend $505/yr. I’m not metered, and just one person, and don’t use the pool, so I’m probably paying more than my actual share. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/46 "2021-02-11T12:07:37Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > UK here - £340 ($539) per annum for water/sewage. That’s a 3 bed house, one bathroom, two toilets, two residents. No water shortages 😉 Funnily enough I’m on hold with Thames Water right now as they’ve misread my meter. Normally we pay about £180 every six months for water/sewage (so ~£360 or so per annum). Same size house, but with a teenager who lives in the shower (despite parental yelling). 😀 ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/47 "2021-02-11T12:43:03Z")
I pay an average of $125.00 usd a month. This also includes the natural gas used to run my furnace in the winter. Sewage here is a municipal function run by the city and included in our property taxes. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/48 "2021-02-11T12:45:04Z")
UK here - Last year was £215. They installed meters all down my road a few years ago. Three bedroom house, one occupant, no external watering. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/49 "2021-02-11T12:58:28Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > @bob_2 how does a yearly bill work? Is it based on what you used last year or what you’re expected to use next year? How does it work if you move? Our water isn’t metred, so they don’t know our precise usage is. When you move into a new house and sign up for a new contract, they work out your bill depending on size of house, number of bathrooms, number of residents. So it’s an average, split across 12 monthly charges, paid by direct debit. If you move, you just stop that bill and sign up again at your new house. They’ve been pressuring us to get a water metre installed, which would give us a more accurate price. I just haven’t got round to it. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/50 "2021-02-11T13:18:15Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > If you move, you just stop that bill and sign up again at your new house. I have seen on this forum that a property owner in the US can remain liable for these ongoing charges. In the UK, everything ends with the exchange of contracts. Taxes, water, utilities et al have to be closed. Meters are read and any other charges are agreed. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/51 "2021-02-11T15:38:55Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > I pay an average of $125.00 usd a month. This also includes the natural gas used to run my furnace in the winter. How does that work? ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/52 "2021-02-11T18:49:45Z")
@jnglmassiv Our electricity, water and natural gas are provided by companies overseen and controlled by city government. The employees are not city workers but the board members of the companies are elected officials. The electrical company owns the power plants and the infrastructure. They maintain and repair the electrical wiring throughout the area, even extending into the small town surrounding the city. They bill the homeowners directly for this service Water and gas work the same way. That company owns the water treatment plants and maintains the water and gas mains and bills the homeowners directly. The city directly controls the storm and sanitary sewers and the waste water treatment facilities. These are paid for by the taxpayers. The sewage fee is a line item in my semi annual property tax bill. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/53 "2021-02-11T22:56:29Z")
When I owned a home in Apple Valley, MN, I paid about $400 per year for water and sewer. Now, I’m in another burg, in a condo and I pay more but am unable to be precise because it goes into HOA fees. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/54 "2021-02-13T06:45:43Z")
Last year $717 CDN, for water, sewer, and the surcharge for fire hydrant service and stormwater treatment. Billed every two months, and the bill breaks everything out in detail, including the fixed costs for the system and actual costs for consumption. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/55 "2021-02-13T09:11:24Z")
La county charges about 70 bucks every 2 months so about 350 a year … > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I pay a private-company hauler about $100 for three months of pickup for both recyclables and landfill trash. I thats what waste management charges every 3 months ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/56 "2021-02-13T13:26:36Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > @jnglmassiv > > Our electricity, water and natural gas are provided by companies overseen and controlled by city government. The employees are not city workers but the board members of the companies are elected officials. > > The electrical company owns the power plants and the infrastructure. They maintain and repair the electrical wiring throughout the area, even extending into the small town surrounding the city. They bill the homeowners directly for this service > > Water and gas work the same way. That company owns the water treatment plants and maintains the water and gas mains and bills the homeowners directly. > > The city directly controls the storm and sanitary sewers and the waste water treatment facilities. These are paid for by the taxpayers. The sewage fee is a line item in my semi annual property tax bill. Huh. My water, sewer, and electric are all provided by the town, but the town meters both water and electric, and bills accordingly. And since the amount I contribute to the sewer is very close to the amount of water I use (excluding what I give to plants in the backyard) this seems quite reasonable. It seems odd to me that your water and sewer are billed separately, as it’s all pipes, and they seem so closely related. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536/57 "2021-02-13T20:52:23Z")
My water/sewer averages $43 per month, using an average of 26 gallons of water per day. When there were more people living here, water/sewer averaged $73 per month, using an average of 86 gallons per day. This was a couple years ago, and rates were also a bit lower. They have a really convoluted pricing structure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-charges/932536.md?page=2)