Do You Pay For Water And Sewerage?

[Winchester]

Karen's thread about electricity bills got me thinking.....we have a well and septic tank, so we don't pay for water or sewerage. I guess that's a good thing. OTOH, when we get really dry patches, we tend to worry about our well going dry. It has happened to several wells in our neighborhood, including the one right next door to us. So while we don't pay water bills, we worry about having enough water.

Same with our sewer system; it's similar to a sand mound system, where the sewage gets pumped from the house into a holding tank. Then a pump in the holding tank pumps it up the hill to the sewage bed in the very back yard. It can be a hassle to deal with. For example, we usually get the tank cleaned out once every two years or so. And when lightning strikes the pump in the holding tank, then we have to get another pump; that has happened four times that I can remember, but fortunately, it hasn't happened lately. *knock on wood*

In PA, now, unless it's a planned subdivision, you need at least an acre of land now to build a house; the reason is so that there's enough space for individual septic systems and wells. There has to be so many feet between each and between neighboring systems. So while we don't have water or sewerage bills to pay, we do have to worry a bit about the well and we still have to maintain the septic system.

Do you pay for water and sewerage?

 

[mokapi]

We pay for water; not sure about sewage. I grew up in a house with a well. It went dry twice and dealing with my dad digging new wells was an experience I still remember. *shudder*

Now, there's too much water, and our basement floods constantly

 

[sivyaleah]

I pay for water, not sewer. It's about $500 a year billed quarterly.

 

[foxxycat]

yes. it's very expensive. in winter it's $200 every quarter and summer even conserving water it's $350-$500 because my yard looks like dead plants if I don't water once a week. I use barrels to collect but last summer we had NO rain so it was pitiful. I don't water the grass. Just the stuff that can be seen from the road. This summer we get rain once a week but I still water the small gardens with my tomatoes and petunias-use watering cans to save on water.

The park used to pay the water until the new neighbor was watering nightly=I told him to quit the crap and he didn't listen..now they installed meters at each unit and guess what??!

the town jacked up the prices because they are in trouble with the epa due to pumping station sewage too small for the amount of people on it-so they came up with some plan to jack our prices up to pay for a so called new place=well it's been 7 years=no new place built yet. so someone is stealing the money. We try to conserve as much as possible but when sewage is $10 a unit it's hard to do it.

If I get a new place I don't want to be on city water. I want a drilled well. Jon's well on his land went down 300 feet. but he won't have to worry about it going dry as it's spring fed. So that's a good thing- anyways yes it's expensive for some towns to have these services. The good thing about city water-power goes out-we still have water as long as generators to run the pumps-we have 5 wells they draw water from. Used to be 7.

So I would invest in an outside installed generator if I get a home on it's own land-would be worth it in my eyes. We have lots of snow and ice=and the new owners of electricity STINK.

 

[neely]

We pay for water which is a good thing because it comes from Lake Michigan. We do not pay for sewer.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
$632.40 per quarter for sewer rental and base water usage. The guest house is on its own sewer and water, otherwise it would be half that, but given the water quality, and as a comparison with developing nations where even muddy, untreated water is an enormous luxury, it's pretty reasonable. Line pressure here is exceptional (upwards of 75 psi); when the drain in the pool was re-positioned three years ago, two ⅝ inch lines filled it in about twenty hours, giving a flow rate pretty close to 32 gallons per minute.
.

 

[Willowy]

I have a septic tank so don't pay for sewage (well, yes I do because I have to maintain the septic system! But I'm not paying a utility company).

I have rural water---there is a well on the property but I'm told that it wouldn't be drinkable because there's a hog confinement less than a mile away. Plus in general most people here don't drink from their wells because of pesticide runoff. The ground water area around the rural water company is a no-spray zone to avoid runoff so it's considered safer. If I wanted to use it for watering I suppose I'd have to hire someone to get the pump working again. Rural water is fairly expensive but not horrible---$33 for service and $5.10 per thousand gallons. I use between 2000-3000 gallons so the monthly bill is always either $43.20 or $48.30 and that would be. . .$183 a quarter? I didn't know that other water companies charged quarterly; I've always paid monthly.

I got spoiled because the town I lived in when I first moved out of my parents' house has city-owned utilities and they're way cheaper. On the other hand, the town I work in has really high water and sewer rates. I see the billing postcards every month and am always surprised by how high they are.

 

[DreamerRose]

Yes, we do pay through the City of Naperville, which also provides electricity. At my house, it runs about $100 per month, but can go way up in the summer if I do a lot of watering. Actually, the water rates go up in the summer anyway; they are figured based on winter usage. Before I got a new air conditioner, the cost could go way up in the summer too because of electricity usage.

I used to be on a well and septic system in another town, and the well pump failed one Fourth of July while I was in the shower with shampoo in my hair. I managed to rinse it out before the water was gone, but we had to pay double to have the pump replaced on a holiday.

 

[Kieka]

We had a major drought the last few years so our entire yard got switched over to sprinklers, drips and timers. Most plants are in pots so there isn't much area watering and each plant gets a dripper that corresponds with how much water it usually wants. During the summer my Mom hand waters a little extra or runs systems more but overall switching has leveled out the water so it doesn't vary much throughout the year. Electricity though it highly variable and I am really scared about next months bill because we had some issues with the system and it was stuck on 74 for three weeks.

I am in one of those cities where everything (except gas) comes on one bill from the city. It averages to about: Water ($70-90), electricity ($100-200, summer = A/C = $$$), sewer ($40), trash ($30), miscellaneous taxes and charge related to them ($30). I pay the utilities as part of my rent so it is fun to try to figure out how much to put aside each month because it can vary so much.

 

[verna davies]

I paid for both water and sewerage. In my old property I paid about £600($775) per year. I moved 3/4 years ago to a property with a meter and paid £220 per year. I am now on a government scheme paying only £190 per year. Yay, there are some advantages to getting old.

 

[LTS3]

No. Not directly anyways. Water is included in the condo fee. There is no sewerage fee.

 

[kashmir64]

In an off-handed way. I pay for the electricity to run the pump and the heater in the winter so the pipes don't freeze. I pay to maintain the septic and to have it pumped out when needed.
But a water or sewage bill from the city....no.

 

[muffy]

My water bill is $57.89 every 3 months. I believe the sewage is included in that amount.

Muffy

 

[AbbysMom]

I have a septic system. I wish we had town sewerage. My septic is not in the best shape and will have to be replaced whenever we sell the house. I have town water and pay around $100 a year for it.

 

[Cat Sidhe]

Here in Ireland we don´t have to pay for water/sewerage.
They tried, though. More than half the country boicotted the water charges and 70% of the users didn´t pay the bills when implemented last year, so the government gave up

 

[flamesabers]

Originally when I moved into my apartment about six years ago, water and sewage were included in the rent. Starting next month I'll have to start paying for them. The amount will vary depending on the size of the bill and the number of residents present in the building.

 

[foxxycat]

.
SNIP. Line pressure here is exceptional (upwards of 75 psi); when the drain in the pool was re-positioned three years ago, two ⅝ inch lines filled it in about twenty hours, giving a flow rate pretty close to 32 gallons per minute.
.

That's pretty impressive flow rate. Ours isn't bad at all. My old home I grew up in was horrible. It took forever to take a shower or fill the washing machine. That's the nice thing about town water-depending on where you are and the diameter of hosing used-get some GOOD water pressure.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

i do pay for water, get billed quarterly. and have a septic tank/system, so only pay for the tank to be pumped about once every 5 years.

 

[Freedom]

I get a combined water and sewerage bill quarterly; just had it come in earlier this week, a bit under $54 for the quarter. But that is me - one person - 7 cats (very little water)- and 5 bichons I groom myself (lots of water).

Last year we were in year 2 of a drought, and I did a big landscape project moving to xeriscaping; had one quarter that was very large, as I needed to water 64 new shrubs to ensure they set roots deep before winter. This year drought is over, no new plants, so that aspect is gone for me.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

We pay a monthly bill for water. My husband wants to put down a well so we will have our own. We have a septic system. When we built the house, they would only approve a mound system for our property.