High Water Bill????? (Houston, Pearland: house, property tax, living in)

[tc1209]

I am a new first time home owner and just got my 2nd water bill. I thought my first bill was high but I figured it was because I watered the lawn quite a bit. This billing period I maybe ran the sprinkler system twice and my bill was ~$110. does this sound normal. Its a very small house at about 1600sqft and the total lot size is about 8500sqft. There is two people living in the house. Does it sound like something is wrong or is that a normal water bill? Its two guys in the house so between the two of us we probably do one load of laundry a week and fill the dshwasher to the max until its ran...Any help is appreciated.

[elnina]

How often you do laundry, how many showers, how long the sprinklers are on?
Also, they may have done an estimate based on previous bill...

[ChocolateBabz]

Originally Posted by tc1209

I am a new first time home owner and just got my 2nd water bill. I thought my first bill was high but I figured it was because I watered the lawn quite a bit. This billing period I maybe ran the sprinkler system twice and my bill was ~$110. does this sound normal. Its a very small house at about 1600sqft and the total lot size is about 8500sqft. There is two people living in the house. Does it sound like something is wrong or is that a normal water bill? Its two guys in the house so between the two of us we probably do one load of laundry a week and fill the dshwasher to the max until its ran...Any help is appreciated.

Our lot is 12,251 sq ft (had to check) and we have a 9 zone sprinkler system. 3 of us in the house, so 3 showers, 1 dishwasher load per day. 2 - 3 loads of laundry per week. No pool. Also we are in Pearland.

Our utility bill's this year (includes sewage and trash):

Jan $76.33
Feb $59.68
Mar $57.34
Apr $62.39
May $60.92
Jun $61.53
Jul $147.05 (uh oh it got hot !)
Aug $126.08
Sep $158.61
Oct $150.52 (sprinklers off again)

At least the grass is alive and the H.O.A. aren't breathing down our necks!

[trbstang]

Also, are you in the City of Houston or in a Munincipal Utility District (MUD)? How many gallons of water do the bills say you used? I'm in a MUD with 5-7 people in the house, watering the yard 2-3 times a week, and our bill is usually $60-80 and ocasionally $100 during the summer. We usually use between 7,000 and 13,000 gallons per month I think it is.

Plus there are a lot of components of a water bill now, it is just not a charge for water. Sewer, drainage fees in COH, surface water conversion charges and possibly garbage pickup in some MUDs, etc. are added to the bill. You could also have some leaks if your usage is high.

[crone]

Our highest water bill this year was July. Two very clean or very dirty old people, pool, 1 dog, 1 cat, 12000 square ft yard that we water when it does not rain at least an inch a week.

Water 15.30

sewer 8.50

North Harris County Regional Water Authority tax 45.20.

Two of my neighbors have no leaks in their plumbing and have been fighting with our MUD due to their $500 a month water bills.

[ChocolateBabz]

Wanted to add that we are in a MUD and pay our annual MUD tax along with property tax but our utility bill is paid straight to Pearland City.

[cheryjohns]

City of Houston water has been very high the last couple of years. Aging infrastructure/drought conditions last year (and the damage that causes), etc. - main line breaks - all caused bills to shoot upwards.

MUD districts are a lot newer.

[lhafer]

Our water bil was usually $50-55/mo. Then this summer it jumped to $100-$110! In our MUD, there is a new fee that is added monthly, and it's about as much as the water usage. So if our water bill was $50, this fee is about $45 - thus we are now getting $100 water bills. Pisses me off, but there's nothing I can do about it.

[tc1209]

ok, I just looked at my bill and sewage is $61.50 and water is $45. Sewage that high seems ridiculous, yes?

[ToyYot]

Yes, but I'll trade you - Septembers bill, 13,000 gallons, city of houston:

Water $60.52
Sewer $81.40
Drainage $4.93