Water Bills (Lancaster: work, sick, house)

[Mrs. P]

Originally Posted by lumpy7900

I moved into a new house in York SC and my water bill is super high! 4 months ago had the new yard installed and had to saturate it every day........received a $424 water bill! Needless to say that was the last time the yard was watered and its still doing fine. Here in York, York county water they charge you the same for sewer as they do for water coming in.....plus all the other taxes and fees. We pay the water bill every month.

We are 2 grown ups who work from home.....shower every 2-3 days. 2 cats & a small dog. We run the DW about every 2 days and run the clothes washer (1/2-3/4 cycle) 3-4 times a week. We have cut back on using water as much as we could with the pending shortage of water.

I just received the bill and it has us using 4000 gal of water!

My question to Ya'll is......... how many gallons of water do you use in a month? Please check your bill and post.

3320 gallons for 3 months.

Here's a few things I did to cut down on water usage. Brush my teeth, while I'm in the shower, use hand sanitizer often, instead of washing them with running water (especially in the kitchen). When I start my shower in the morning, and water is running that is not yet warm enough to step into, I have a bucket to get that cool water, and sit it on the floor outside of the shower when it's full. I use it to water houseplants, or yard plants. Only do complete FULL loads of laundry, instead of setting the washer for a 1/2 load even if the load is small...that still wastes water. That may mean you need to buy a few more socks and underwear, but it saves in the long run. I have always done the above things, all my life pretty much. I also bought a very high efficiency washer 3 months ago. Major savings there. I probably already saved on my water expenses, over the higher price I paid to get that washer.

[AmericanRoadGirl]

Hi all,
My latest water bill reflects 3613 gals in usage from the 19 Sept to 17 Oct. Water bill is $30.26 from City of Rock Hill. Two adults here. One working from home. We are outside the city on a septic tank, so there is no sewer charge to our bill. We do the same thing as Mrs. P, with regard to catching water when we are waiting for it to warm up. We use this water for other purposes. We do not water our yard. It was newly planted this year (new construction) and is doing ok. Lumpy, it sounds like we are only a few hundred gals apart as far as usage in our households. We shower every day, but only use the dishwasher about 2 times a week. We are in new construction so our appliances and toilets may be more efficient as far as water use goes. Hope this helps.

[justgayle]

Hi, Are they still having a drought/water shortage in Fort Mill? I am planning on moving there as soon as our house sells. I'm a bit worried. Thanks!

[groove1]

My bill for water outside town limits went town about $10 this bill. It's down to $66 now but only $20 is for water; the rest is for sewer.

[jenn02674]

Great ideas although I did want to point out one thing. Hand sanitizer is not as effective as old fashioned hand washing and some scientists actually speculate they are contributing to antibiotic resistance - actually you shouldn't even use antibacterial soap. Hand sanitizer has just become popular as a convenience not because it is more effective. In addition, the hand sanitizer must be at least 60% alcohol and you must use enough to rub your hands for 30 seconds.

Just felt like I needed to point that out as cold/flu season is coming but most importantly because of the occurances of MRSA. A better way to conserve water would be to simply turn the water off while you are washing your hands.

Hand Sanitizers vs. Soap and Water
Hand Hygiene Revisited: Another Look at Hand Sanitizers and Antibacterial Soap

[groove1]

Originally Posted by jenn02674

Great ideas although I did want to point out one thing. Hand sanitizer is not as effective as old fashioned hand washing and some scientists actually speculate they are contributing to antibiotic resistance - actually you shouldn't even use antibacterial soap. Hand sanitizer has just become popular as a convenience not because it is more effective. In addition, the hand sanitizer must be at least 60% alcohol and you must use enough to rub your hands for 30 seconds.

Just felt like I needed to point that out as cold/flu season is coming but most importantly because of the occurances of MRSA. A better way to conserve water would be to simply turn the water off while you are washing your hands.


Vessel Sanitation Program: Facts About Noroviruses on Cruise Ships | CDC

Hand Sanitizers vs. Soap and Water
Hand Hygiene Revisited: Another Look at Hand Sanitizers and Antibacterial Soap

Actually, alcohol-based hand sanitizer have been shown to be more effective than soap and water when used IN COMBINATION with soap and water. The 62% alcohol in most hand sanitizers like Purell actually kills the virus, so antibiotic resistance is irrelevalant, as it is with the cold and flu, which are all caused by viruses.

[NewToYorkSC]

Thanks for all the responses.
I have received 2 bills (live within the city limits in York). Both have been aroung $30. (Minimum charge for 1000 gallons)Water/sewer/garbage. No lawn watering...they haven't put my lawn in yet because of the drought conditions.

[rothbear]

Originally Posted by jenn02674

Yeah I know but unless you have a seperate irrigation meter the two go hand in hand. As water goes up sewer automatically goes up. I don't have an irrigation system, just use sprinklers, and don't plan on getting one any time soon since they are so darn expensive to install.

I just posted a question about this called "Separate water meter for landscape". I couldn't find this post at first. Would you be willing.......or anyone else with experience with this.......to go and answer my questions as much as possible?? Thanks!

[marndt]

Ours is about $75 a month. In the summer with irrigation it was around $125 or so. The seperate meter for irrigation saves about $20 or so a month.

[pitcrew]

hello- how are the wate bills in the town of kershaw? What is the drought situation there? I am moving to jones rd in three weeks, from canton, ohio area