Water utility costs (Colorado Springs: utilities, live in, linear)

[bontrager]

Just got my first utility bill. Was shocked to see $510 just for water for one month! Now, we have sprinklers that go on 3 days a week for 30 minutes max (3/4 acre lot but <1/4 is watered), but other than that, we are just showering daily, running a dishwasher and washing machine like anyone else. I have a hard time believing water is THIS expensive here. Does this seem off to anyone?

[Seguinite]

I expect my water bill in south central Texas would have been close to that watering (with sprinkler system) 3 days a week.

[GypsyPeak75]

We live in Colorado Springs (Briargate).

We used 510 CF of water for the month of July. The total cost was $52.95 which includes the $6.80 stormwater fee.

We have a small lawn in the back, and two large raised beds with flowers and vegetables, that we handwater every day.

Even at less than 1/4 acre, you appear to have a pretty big lawn.

[TCHP]

When you say it is watered for 30 minutes max, is that total for the whole .25 acre or do you have multiple stations that run for 30 minutes each, totaling a couple hours worth of run time?

It does seem unusually high to have the water portion only at $510. I'd also add that water rates here are not linear, they are tiered. So once you reach a certain threshold usage, the additional water is billed at the higher rate.

It certainly is worthwhile to look in to it further. It isn't outside the realm of possibility to have an underground leak that you can't see. You also can contact Springs Utilities and request some historical usage for your address to see if your usage is significantly different than previous occupants.

[bontrager]

Originally Posted by TCHP

When you say it is watered for 30 minutes max, is that total for the whole .25 acre or do you have multiple stations that run for 30 minutes each, totaling a couple hours worth of run time?

It does seem unusually high to have the water portion only at $510. I'd also add that water rates here are not linear, they are tiered. So once you reach a certain threshold usage, the additional water is billed at the higher rate.

It certainly is worthwhile to look in to it further. It isn't outside the realm of possibility to have an underground leak that you can't see. You also can contact Springs Utilities and request some historical usage for your address to see if your usage is significantly different than previous occupants.

I just found out the previous homeowner had the watering set for 4 days a week, which was more than the city allows, so I'm sure that had something to do with the high fee.

I have 4 zones- 2 are flowerbeds, 1 is for native grasses , and the other is for trees/shrubs. I don't have a traditional lawn/grass. Each zone was set to run for 30 minutes. I've since cut the watering down to 2 days @ 20 minutes each. Hoping that makes a big difference.

[otowi]

You could have a leak somewhere....

I am on Security water and I have never paid more than $40/month...

[bontrager]

I called COS Utilities. They said it's definitely my sprinkler system and recommended 10-15 minutes per day, not 30-35 the way it was previously setup. And I had it going 4 days a week, which should have been 3 max. Hoping next month's bill will be more reasonable.

[TCHP]

Those changes should make a decent dent in the usage.

[Wittgenstein's Ghost]

The new water rules have good intentions, but the implementation has been a disaster, IMO. I installed new sod and used fresh top soil from Rocky Top before putting the sod down. New sod qualifies me for a month of relaxed watering restrictions, but because I didn't get an itemized receipt from Rocky Top showing that I purchased a qualifying quantity of amendment, my permit for relaxed restrictions was denied.

So, what am I supposed to do? Let the four pallets of sod that I already installed sit there and die because I didn't get an itemized receipt? Seriously?

Good idea, bad execution.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by Wittgenstein's Ghost

. . .but because I didn't get an itemized receipt from Rocky Top showing that I purchased a qualifying quantity of amendment, my permit for relaxed restrictions was denied.

So, what am I supposed to do? . . .

Go back to Rocky Top and ask them to give you an itemized receipt?