What are you paying per month for water & sewer?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

Chris Hayes just said people in Detroit are averaging $65/mo.
I have a small ranch house in the Chicago suburbs drawing Lake Michigan water and I'm paying about a quarter of that. My mom's house is farther from the lake and she pays more than I do but still not Detroit rates.

[hack89]

1. About 20 a month. Water only no sewer. Nt

[madokie]

2. Our water cost us somewhere in the 30's per month

We have our own septic system. Our electricity runs within a buck or two of 100 a month.

[Brickbat]

3. Nothing, well and septic.

I mean, not counting putting the septic in.

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. Same here, though to be fair, it does cost me electricity to get the water.

My pumps don't run on wishes!

[Brickbat]

11. Ha, true that!

[Michigander_Life]

4. I have about the highest in my state at $100-$120/ month

That doesn't include sewer -- we are on city water but septic.

[REP]

5. Septic; about $42 with a greenhouse and steamroom. Electric about $65

[avebury]

6. $61-$65 in Oklahoma City and my

water usage is pretty low.

[onecent]

8. water and sewer and garbage pick up about 33.00 in

small suburb of Kansas city, Mo

[roody]

9. A little over 100 per month in small

town N. Cal. I am very conservative with water use. The rates will go up tomorrow.

[MohRokTah]

10. I pay about $85 per two months in the far Chicago hinterlands.

Two separate bills for water and sewer and they bill every two months instead of every month. Water bill comes one month, then sewer bill based upon water bill comes the next.

[JVS]

12. 113-180 every 3 months depending on season.

Less in winter, more in summer.

Detroit's rates are likely made relatively high because the water capacity of Detroit was probably built up in the 1940s to supply 1.8 million people. In fact, they are likely to have anticipated an eventual population that never materialized and built infrastructure for over 2 million. So modern day Detroit is in the unenviable position of supporting an infrastructure larger than it needs. Which of course, is the same story they face with respect to pensions, schools, municipal services, etc.

[Igel]

13. $45-50, unless it doesn't rain and things need watering.

It includes a couple bucks for trash. Otherwise water and sewer. Fairly new area, and the rule is that subdivisions pay off their own debt.

About the same as LA and other places I've lived, give or take $10.

What's outrageous about Detroit isn't the water bill; it's the sewage rates. It doesn't help that they have no reserves, nobody to bail them out and they've failed to have serious collection efforts for years (because they were politically unfavored). I've heard that up to 50% of the customers are behind, even though until recently there have been nifty payment plans and help for the indigent, and that there's a 4% increase over expenses just to pay for the shortfall from last year. That just makes it harder for the people who *do* pay to make ends meet.

Now, where I live the rates could be lower if the infrastructure were older and the debt load less. Detroit's is going to be higher because of the opposite effect--the infrastructure is very old and in need of serious work even as the population's imploded so there are fewer people that the extensive decaying infrastructure is serving. There are also fewer payers to cover the existing debt (and even fewer payers on the existing debt) and a lot of excesss.

[snooper2]

14. that is $20 cheaper than I pay

[Coventina]

15. Last bill was $69 in Scottsdale, AZ

That's water, sewer & trash.

[MadrasT]

16. About 100 dollars a month, water only.

I have a septic tank.

That is for ONE PERSON and I don't even have a clothes washer. Use a laundrymat. I run the dishwasher once a week.

Nor do I water outside, or have a pool or hot tub or anything like that.

My water bill is insane.

Edit to add, I am in rural SE Pennsylvania.

[Bluenorthwest]

17. 60-75 per month, water, storm water and waste water.

It's pretty high. It's good water, I'll say that.

[FSogol]

18. Water and sewer, $46 a month, Northern, VA. n/t

[Glitterati]

19. Almost $65 per month, water, sewer and garbage pickup

right on the shores of a Corp of Engineers Lake, which is the water source.

[Travis_0004]

20. The problem with Detriot is the high level of vacancy

I pay about 15 a month. (Water only, I'm on septic).

Water and sewer have very high fixed cost, and very low marginal costs (its cheap to purify a few thousand gallons of water, very expensive to maintain the billion dollar sewer system. If Detroit gained 500k households, the cost to run the sewer district wouldn't really increase all that much, but they would have 500k extra people paying into the system, and could drop the rates.

[NutmegYankee]

21. About $22 per month, billed every three months.

I'm in a 1950s -1960s subdivision that's out in the boonies. We have a neighborhood well system that uses 10 wells to provide our water, chlorinated at the federal minimum, but not fluoridated (too small). The neighborhood once had septic systems for each house but the town ran sewers up in the 1980s, so almost everyone has switched. There are some homes that are on their own well. A non-profit state sponsored water authority runs our system.

[phylny]

22. Rural Virginia, septic, $30/month for water (lake water). n/t

[Motown_Johnny]

23. I live in Detroit and pay ~$35/mo

I just opened a new bill today, $33.44.

I do live alone so I can believe that a family could pay twice that much. I would like to see the math that has residential customers in Detroit averaging ~$65/mo. If that is accurate then for everyone like me who is paying ~$35.00/mo there is someone paying ~$95.00/mo. I suppose it is possible but it seems unlikely to me.

[PassingFair]

25. I'm in St. Clair Shores. My last water bill was $208.99.....we pay quarterly.

So we pay almost $70.00 per month. More in the summer months.
We are a family of 4.

We NEVER water our lawn.

[Motown_Johnny]

34. That seems about right.

I can see a family of 4 paying roughly double what I pay.

Besides that, the 'burbs pay more for water than those of us in the city.


The average in the city being ~$65.00 still seems high to me, but I could easily be wrong.

[dem in texas]

24. My rate in Dallas

around $65 per month, this includes water, sewer and garbage pickup. This is the minimum. If you water your lawn or garden your bill will much higher, probably double. I used to have a huge English style flower garden plus a vegetable garden and my bill ran over a $100 a month and more in the summer. I have quit watering my lawn because of the water shortage in Texas and too old to garden anymore.

[Still Sensible]

26. About $65 includes water, sewer and garbage service

here in central Oklahoma

[JeffHead]

27. 10 miles from Lake Michigan and I pay about 35 - 40 bucks a month. nt

[valerief]

28. $24/month. Central Mass., city water. nt

[tammywammy]

29. $35/month water, sewer, trash.

Single person household, some watering of bushes/flowers, but not the lawn. Sometimes gets up to $45.

[Crabby Appleton]

30. 29 per month for water, sewer and trash pickup

up until about 6 months ago it was $22 per month but the town had to buy another garbage truck and they raised the rates to pay for it.

[Grammy23]

31. We pay between $61 and $72 dollars per month

depending on usage. This includes water, sewer and garbage pick up including our recycle can, plus yard clippings once a week. They will come out and pick up large items if you call them, like old hot water heaters or appliances, but there is a charge. Still cheaper than driving out to the landfill where there is also a charge based on weight and the gas it takes to get out there and back. (20 + miles one way)

We live in Escambia County (Northwest Florida).

[procon]

32. Rural So Cal desert

Private local water co. with $128 monthly minimum. Everyone here has septic tanks with leach lines which over time have contaminated 2 of our 5 wells.

[nolabels]

46. Plus the cost of installation and maintenance on septic system $40+ monthly

This assumes the installation cost is lumped inside the mortgage and a yearly pumping so the septic system doesn't screw things up.

So yea, my monthly, water about $110, sewer $40+, trash $32

just because life ain't cheap out here in the So Cal Desert

[Blue_In_AK]

33. I pay about $151 a month

for both units of this duplex, so I guess that makes it about $75. We have unlimited usage; it's a flat rate.

[craigmatic]

35. $60 something

[SoCalDem]

36. around $40 a month

[ohheckyeah]

37. I have a well and septic system

so all I pay is the electricity to run the water.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

38. private well/private septic tank. up front cost and maintenance. had to put in a new pump in the

well last year ... $700.oo

[kentauros]

39. I don't know: All Bills Paid apartment.

I'd have to ask my landlord. I only know he pays about $2500/mo electric for 16 units. That may have gone down since the installation of a white rubberized roof. I know it does cool better in the summer now.

And even with water/sewer as part of my rent, I've always tried to be frugal with water use (another reason why I was happy to go from film to digital; home film-development is a water-intensive process.) So, low-flow showerheads, short showers, short dishwasher cycles, not flushing for every little tinkle, and so forth.

If you are allowed, you might also collect rainwater, at least for watering your lawn and plants

[Humanist_Activist]

40. I don't know, its integrated into my rent with trash and I'm too lazy to...

try to find our contract.

I did do some calculations based on estimates of national averages with known rates in the City of St. Louis, around where I live.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=837722
Here's most of the post:

[div class="excerpt" style="margin-left:1em; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-radius:0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]A month ago our landlord asked us to check for leaks in the basement of the building because she just got the water bill and it was 300 dollars, for four families in one building, which was, as she put it, way too damned high. We found no leak in the basement, it was another issue with another apartment in the building, but the point is, 70 dollars a month, for water? Are you effing kidding me?

I've seen my Dad's water bill, having his own house it is, of course, separate, and unless he was filling the above ground pool, never goes above 50 dollars a month, and even with filling the pool, it doesn't break more than 150. Now, he doesn't live in the largest city in our area, but a smaller city that uses county rates, I couldn't find their rates, so here are the rates for City of St. Louis.

If you qualify for flat rate, this is how its calculated as of 2010:

Room charge, each $3.76
Water closet, each $14.72
Baths, each $12.35
Shower, separate from bath, each $12.35

So I'll do some math here, lets say for a 3 bedroom house, 1 and a half bath, seems reasonable for a middle class to lower middle class home, also the model for my Dad's house minus half a bath. 3 bedrooms+kitchen+living room/den equals $18.80. Add in the 1 and a half bath and it comes to $60.59. This is two water closets and a bath plus the rooms.

So how about metered rates, for those that want them, well, first, there is a readiness to serve charge based on size of the meter, which is, from what I can gather, the size(diameter) of the service line into the house/building.

Meter Size
5/8" $23.84
3/4" $27.78
1" $35.22
1 1/2" $50.93
2" $74.02
3" $143.51
4" $254.55
6" $485.99
8" $740.53
10" $1018.25

Now, I'm not an expert on plumbing, but I'm assuming that from the lowest to 1 and a half inch meter would be typical for individual households. So let's say 1" for a 3 bedroom 1 and a half bath house. I'm estimating here, it could be way off. So that's $35.22.

Then there's the quantity rates, this is your usage of water, here is how it is calculated:

For the first 25,000 cubic feet per billing, $1.77 per 100 cubic feet of water
For the next 1,975,000 cubic feet per billing, $1.38 per 100 cubic feet of water
Over 2,000,000 cubic feet per billing, $1.04 per 100 cubic feet of water

Now, just for reference a cubic foot of water is about 7.5 gallons, rounded up. According to the EPA, the average American family uses 400 gallons of water a day. That's 1,604.28 cubic feet of water a month. Divide that by 100 and add in the dollar amount means that you are charged about $28.39 per month.

Oh, but the calculations above are for 3 months, so I must adjust the metered rate to $85.18 plus $35.22, which is $120.40, for 3 months of water, the most expensive I calculated yet. Even then, its still about $40 dollars a month. My question is, what type of mismanagement is there with Detroit's water division to overcharge on water so badly?

We have plentiful fresh water in our area, lots of lakes, streams, and two of the largest rivers in the world, and its not like we don't treat the shit out of this water, they are also quite polluted after all. But you can say the same of Detroit.

ON EDIT: Sorry, forgot to link to the water rates and where I got them: http://www.stlwater.com/waterrates.php

[onethatcares]

41. bout $70/mo includes

water, sewerage, trash pickup without recycling.

left coast of Florida, St. Petersburg

[etherealtruth]

42. Approximately 78/ month

I live in suburban Detroit and my water and sanitary sewer is through the Detroit system

[blueamy66]

43. Was paying that in a suburb of PHX

nt

[HereSince1628]

44. That's complicated in Milw suburb...water per se isn't expensive, but

in addition the bill includes:

Water Connection Charge

Fire Protection Charge (ostensibly for the "cost" of water used fighting fires in the community, it's not at all clear that this fee is actually scheduled at just the cost).

Sewer Connection Charge

Local Sewer Usage Charge

MMSD Sewer Usage Charge billings from the Milw. Metro Sanitary District for MMSD projects ... currently this portion of the bill exceeds the price of the water used.

Storm Water Usage Charge - A charge that is based on the amount of impervious area on your property...area that won't absorb water.

THe monthly bill hovers around $60. The fee for water usage (for 2 adults) is about $12.

[Ino]

45. Sewer $35 / Water $20 / Trash $11

In St. Louis. Those are flat rates -- not based on usage. So not a good deal for a single person.

[KurtNYC]

47. $35 for the combo

[PowerToThePeople]

48. about 85 per month

55 sewer , 2.50 utility, amd the rest is based on usage.