My water bills have been hovering in the mid-$30 range this year ($33.27; $39.37; $33.05; $20.61 $30.98; and $50.22), which is pretty much where they’ve been since I moved into the house in 2000. Yesterday, however, I opened the envelope to find a bill totaling $145.40. As the shock began to set in, I read the details and found that for this billing period, I’ve used excessive Tier 2 and Tier 3 services, which I have no idea what that means in water consumption. I also have a new charge, the sewer service, which is $35.00. Then there’s a $29.64 fee entitled “adjustments,” with no further explanation. The bottom line is that I’m paying $4.85 per day in water usage fees. Even on the days no one is in the house and no water is turned on.
I just returned from the water company where I received absolutely no satisfaction either for the total amount or for a better understanding of the “tier” system. I told her I know that’s water usage, but how much water usage isn’t specified. She told me if I use over my tier 1, the next tier is tier 2 – and you get the idea of her very patient, calm and quiet recitation of the tier system. I told her again that I understand it’s water usage, but what does a “typical” single resident residence use? I do 2 washers of clothes each week; don’t use the dishwasher unless I have company; only shower on alternate days due to a skin condition, and then the shower is maybe a total of 10 minutes if I have to also shampoo my hair. I removed all of my lawn and replaced plants with desert friendly landscaping – and I can’t think of what else to do to be compliant with all the water usage regulations we are all laboring under.
She assured me I must have a leak but, lucky me, I had the plumber here this morning and there is no evidence of a leak inside or out. She suggested that maybe the plumber missed a leak, but I told her that any leak that could result in $150 water bill for one month would be pretty hard to miss!
I requested that someone come read the water meter, but they don’t actually read the meters in this day and age. There’s a chip and they just drive by and click your chip. Well, then, I suggested that someone come click my chip again as I doubt I could use this much water unless I just opened a bathtub faucet and let it run for a while (like a week). She is going to put in the request for that chip click service to be performed.
As to the $29.64 adjustment? Oh, that’s the sewer fee retroactive because I was linked to the sewer system June 4, so owe for that entire month of service because it was not included with that billing cycle.
Wow. I’m so not going to like this program.
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So, basically, what they are saying is that the sewer project was way too expensive, the state has no water, we've mismanaged everything, and we're passing the costs along to you.
If you subtract all the surcharges out, what is the actual amount of water charges charged? $145.40 minus $29.64 minus $4.85 is $110.91. Even if the $35 sewer fee isn't the water cost, that is still a bill for water of $75.91, which is double what you have paid before.
We had something similar happen; everyone was getting "upgraded" to new electricity meters. And everyone noticed their electric bills were higher after the new, supposedly smarter, meters were installed. M just looked at our power bill, and noticed that, without some of our usual high-energy costs for a few months, our bill was still the same or more than a year ago at the same time using those high-power devices. Go figure, eh?
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