Costly Municipal Water Bills? Here's a Cheaper Alternative
If you use a community water system, the municipality or local authority is responsible for the supply and routine tests for the water while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitors the water. In a nutshell, you pay an entity to supply and maintain your water needs.
Your water utility's common units to measure water bills are the gallon and centum cubic feet (CFC). An average American uses approximately 88 gallons of water in a day. Note that the amount differs greatly in different parts of the country, especially because of the different weather patterns. Your water bills explain your trends and charges.
The How and Where of Your Water Charges
Below is the breakdown of how your water bill is calculated and where the money is used.
How?
Water utilities use a rate structure to bill you for their workers' services and the infrastructure. The rate types determine how they charge you, and there are various dimensions as follows:
- Flat fee . All customers receive the same charges, regardless of the amount you consume.
- Uniform rate . This method charges a constant price per unit for all metered units annually. However, some water utilities charge different amounts to various groups, like residential and industrial.
- Water budget-based rates . The water utility gives your household a budget and charges you a fixed rate for use within your budget and higher if you surpass the budget.
- Increasing block rate . This rate type involves a higher charge for every succeeding block usage and is commonly used in urban areas with limited supply.
- Declining block rate . Every succeeding block attracts a lower charge than the predecessor and is popular in areas with many users.
- Seasonal rate . The rates cover a specific time to enhance conservation when usage is at its peak.
- Drought rates . The charges are adjusted based on the locality's drought level. The rates increase when drought increases to encourage conservation.
Where?
Many utilities have a meter that charges the volume of water that gets into your house. However, you don't pay for the variable water charges only. You also pay a fixed payment for other services. The total costs also depend on the price of water in your area as the price varies based on location.
- Fixed charge . You pay to maintain water infrastructures such as pipes, tanks, and treatment plants. You also cover for repayment of loans used to build the structures. Water bills rise over the years since the old infrastructure is costly to repair.
- Variable charge . You pay for the amount of water you use monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Additionally, you cover the chemical treatment and power used to deliver the water. As water pollution increases, treatment becomes more difficult, and you pay more.
The Cheaper Alternative
Over 42 million Americans depend on wells for home water needs. You get a certain level of freedom and independence if you walk away from municipal water.
Well water is almost free, so you don't have to stress over monthly water bills. Further, you don't need to worry about hidden or pumped-up charges. You need enough to cover the initial construction cost and some annual maintenance fees, which are significantly lower than the municipality cost.
Initial cost varies based on the contractor but is approximately $15 to $30 for every foot of depth. The maintenance fee mainly involves inspection of the water condition and well parts such as case, pump, and vents. The examination may range from around $300 to $500 annually.
The greatest con of municipal water is the high cost. You don't pay for usage for a well, just inspection and maintenance. If you think a well construction will work for your home, you will need to hire a licensed well systems professional to drill and maintain it. Contact us at
Brown & Cox
for professional services you can depend on.
