# "City Dwellers" How much water do you use???



## keyman512us (Jul 3, 2007)

Hey all...
I just noticed something in another post here in the green room...and I was wondering??? How many of the forum members have city/municipally supplied water??? And how much does it cost???

"According to the numbers" (useless trivia knowledge)...the average American family (of four people) uses 1 Acre/Foot of water per year. To give you an idea of how much water that is...The Hoover Dam in Nevada holds back 29 Million Acre/Feet of water.

Given recent trends...a slightly higher than average wet spring in the Northeast, Torrential flooding in the south central states, and less than normal on the west coast...What's the "general consensus" on our fresh water supplies? 

Are things "changing for the worse"???

How are the folks in the "central states" doing??? Anyone losing their wells???

Back to the subject:

Here in G-Vegas...The rates are as follows: "Water $4.25, Sewer $3.75 per 100Cubic Feet, Sewer only $37.80"

Interesting to note: The city just recently removed the "minumum charge" (each household would be billed for a minimum of 1100CF per quarter of the year)
From 10/15/06-01/15/07 We (3 people) used 600CF $31.88Water/$22.50Sewerage Total $54.38....(4,488.311Gallons)

No 'drastic lifestyle changes' here...just good sense...
How are we doing??? Conserving accordingly???

(1AF=325,851Gallons,7.48 Gallons/CF..."AVG American Family 892.74/223.18 Gal/PP/PD)


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## SeanD (Jul 3, 2007)

I guess the need to conserve depends on your source of water.  If I had a well I would watch every drop.  But, in my case, I can't understand the need to conserve at all.  Our municipal water system draws water from the Ohio River.  Cleans it up and distributes it to the community.  We wash laundry, take a shower, whatever.  Water goes down the drain, is cleaned up again and returned to the Ohio River two miles downstream from where it was drawn.  We only borrow it for a couple days.  Fresh water is not consumed like oil or coal.  Earth has the same amount of water today as it did hundreds of years ago.  
Having said this, it seems like every year we are encouraged to "conserve" water.  Makes me laugh because to my way of thinking we are actually wasting millions of gallons that flow past our intakes never to be used on its way to the Gulf of Mexico.


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## jqgs214 (Jul 3, 2007)

Quarterly I pay about 17.00 for water.  No idea how much water that is I think its 12.00 for the first 7000 gallans and 1.00/1000G after that?  no sure though.


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## begreen (Jul 3, 2007)

We're on a small water system and tax ourselves a maintenance fee to cover infrastructure and maintenance. No sewer charge, we're on a septic system. Billing is bi-monthly, fee is 17.50/mo. In the summer we use about 1100 cu ft/mo. This is mostly due to garden watering (with drip irrigation). We have several gardens and dry summers, our water bill shows this. It's sometimes as high as our winter heat bill. Drops down to about 400 cu. ft./mo. in winter for 3 people.


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## Jags (Jul 3, 2007)

My well is a whopping 64 feet deep.  No loss of water here.  I have a pretty good size pump (used to be used to fill horse tanks and water tanks in the old farming days) and filled my 6400 gallon swimming pool with a minimum draw down on the well.  Still had 47 feet of water to the bottom of the well from it original position.  My water starts basically 15 feet below the ground surface.  At 6 ft below ground surface is lime stone for many feet and then turns into Saint Peters Sand (according to the old timers, that means your gonna have a good well).  I test it every year, and it always comes back clean.  It is hard water though, but very cold.  A short distance from me, is a shallow artesian well that my uncle drove a sand point to find.  Still works like the day it was discovered and yes, he used the old willow branch to "witch" the water source.  Meaning that he walked around like a dumba$$ with a "Y" willow branch until it bent towards the ground.


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## R&D Guy (Jul 4, 2007)

I get water from my city, and live on a 1/3 acre fully landscaped lot with a sprinkler system.  My backyard is about 2/3rds of the total space and faces south so it gets a LOT of sun in the summer which of course requires a LOT of water to keep the lawn green.  

Looking my current bill over (which I really only do in August), I see the following:

Water Usage 4/20 - 6/20: 1600 cu.ft or about 12,000 gallons
Base Rate $13.38
Water Consumption Rate $21.92
So about a 1/3 ($0.003) cent a gallon if you include the base charge for that month, or (T)gallons x $0.00183) + 13.38.

Now my next bill will be the biggest of the year.  Looking at my history:

Water Usage 6/21 - 8/20: 7,000 cu.ft. or about 52,400 gallons.
Base rate is a constant $13.38
Water Consumption est. (Total gallons * 0.00183) = $95.72
Total Bill $109.10 for the summer green fee.

The sewer charge is my biggest beef at $75 a month for a 4 bedroom home.


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## northwinds (Jul 4, 2007)

Currently, we're on a town well and are charged a base rate of $18.19 per quarter. In 10 years we've never exceeded usage for the base rate.   Sewer is $60/quarter.

For the new house we will be building, we'll be on private well and septic.  During my entire life, I've never been on private well or septic, so I'm a little nervous about that.  Just something new...


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## Highbeam (Jul 11, 2007)

northwinds said:
			
		

> For the new house we will be building, we'll be on private well and septic.  During my entire life, I've never been on private well or septic, so I'm a little nervous about that.  Just something new...



You'll love it if the well is good and the soil percs well. The well water isn't typically chlorinated so it has NO flavor, the septic just works and reroutes all of the water you sucked through the well right back to the ground so you are in a closed loop sort of. No bills, minimal and infrequent maintenance along with independence from the grid for that utility.


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## BrotherBart (Jul 11, 2007)

Highbeam said:
			
		

> northwinds said:
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Unless you live where I do and the county requires that you pay a guy $150 every year to pump the solids tank out on the septic system.


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## keyman512us (Jul 12, 2007)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> Highbeam said:
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BB... It could be worse.

Just ask "your neighbors to the north (Mass...the other 'commonwealth'..lol)" that have to deal with 'Title 5'...

Enter this one into your lexicon: "The tight tank" (sealed storage tank with no leach field). Talk about "pumping"???


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## Highbeam (Jul 12, 2007)

That required pumping really gets my goat. I would much rather support a required effluent filter to prevent contaminating the drainfield which is the apparent goal of required pumping. Annual pumping is just retarded, every 5 years is much more realistic but still a lame requirement. This stuff, poo, is my bread and butter and these folks making the rules just have their heads up their bums.


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