Water Sprinklers on Separate Meter?

[dosto]

It's been a while since the last post in this thread. We are still struggling with our water bills. We moved over a year ago from Pearland into the city and our water bills went up from no more than $100 in our old house to almost $500+ per month in the new one. We checked for leaks, got a plumbing company come out and check everything. Didn't help much. Thinking about a second water meter. I just checked our last bill and it shows a charge of $190 for water and $207 for sewer. How is that possible? Sewer is more than actual water usage? Would a second meter help? Anyone installed a second meter?

I wonder, Ruth3703, whether your situation has been resolved?

[texsn95]

Why not call the utility company and ask them to explain the charges?

[johnsmith]

water bill is higher than electric one..........I hate private water company

[JasonAndJulie]

Well water tastes excellent.

[fordlover]

I'm really glad our city only charges a flat rate for sewer, I think about 12 bucks a month.

It's been a long time, but if Ruth ever comes back to this post, an idea to save the trees: get a few 5 gallon buckets, and drill a small hole at the bottom, place a bucket at the base of each tree, and fill it with water twice a week. This will help keep all your trees alive.

If you were watering twice a week during the worst drought in the last 50 years, you were probably watering too much. I'm sure your yard looked great, but for a 800 a month water bill for 4 or 5 months, you could probably re-sod the entire yard for less.

[dosto]

Originally Posted by texsn95

Why not call the utility company and ask them to explain the charges?

I did. I called City of Houston and they told me that is what I used. They suggested me to check everything for leaks, which I did. They could not offer anything else. It's their word against mine, I guess.

[RonMG]

My son in law and I have been researching what it takes to get and install a 2nd meter for a sprinkler system in Texas City near Houston. I suspect what we've found might additionally apply to the gentleman who posted about filling his pool with 25k gallons of water but not sure.

First step is to get a permit to install the 2nd meter - but be aware, your helpful City Hall folks may not know the regulations by heart. Thanks to my S.I.L.'s research, he found the State of Texas code that allows a property owner to get the permit to purchase and install the system without having to hire a professional (this is *not* something everyone should try, but this is the 4th system I've done on my own properties or, in this case, with my S.I.L., so I'm pretty comfortable with all the things we have to do to make it safe for everyone) - though you are welcome to hire a professional who can install the meter, the backflow prevention hardware and tie it all together with your system. Here's the important Texas regulation that allows the property owner to do this :

Texas Administrative Code, Title 30, Part 1, Chapter 30, Subchapter D, Rule 30.129 (you can find this on the http://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public website).
(b) The licensing requirements of this chapter do not apply to:
(1) irrigation or yard sprinkler work that is performed by a property owner in a building or on premises owned or occupied by the owner as the owner's home;

Because of that nifty wording, we are going down tomorrow to get the permit to purchase and install the 2nd meter. I strongly suspect from past experience that, once the meter is installed, we'll also have to get it inspected and verified by someone from the City. I'll post a follow-up if I learn anything different along the way...

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by RonMG

My son in law and I have been researching what it takes to get and install a 2nd meter for a sprinkler system in Texas City near Houston. I suspect what we've found might additionally apply to the gentleman who posted about filling his pool with 25k gallons of water but not sure.

First step is to get a permit to install the 2nd meter - but be aware, your helpful City Hall folks may not know the regulations by heart. Thanks to my S.I.L.'s research, he found the State of Texas code that allows a property owner to get the permit to purchase and install the system without having to hire a professional (this is *not* something everyone should try, but this is the 4th system I've done on my own properties or, in this case, with my S.I.L., so I'm pretty comfortable with all the things we have to do to make it safe for everyone) - though you are welcome to hire a professional who can install the meter, the backflow prevention hardware and tie it all together with your system. Here's the important Texas regulation that allows the property owner to do this :

Texas Administrative Code, Title 30, Part 1, Chapter 30, Subchapter D, Rule 30.129 (you can find this on the http://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public website).
(b) The licensing requirements of this chapter do not apply to:
(1) irrigation or yard sprinkler work that is performed by a property owner in a building or on premises owned or occupied by the owner as the owner's home;

Because of that nifty wording, we are going down tomorrow to get the permit to purchase and install the 2nd meter. I strongly suspect from past experience that, once the meter is installed, we'll also have to get it inspected and verified by someone from the City. I'll post a follow-up if I learn anything different along the way...

That piece of the Administrative code applies to the actual sprinkler system, not the water meter. Texas City requries meters to be installed by a licensed plumber. See code of ordinances http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Texas/texascity_tx/titlevpublicworks/chapter50utilitiesgenerally?f=templates$fn=default .htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:texascity_tx$anc=JD_50.017

In addition, the meter becomes the property of the City.

[77030]

I made the mistake of getting a second water meter for my sprinklers several years ago, here in Houston. Don't do it.

[Johnhw2]

Some time ago, if one lived in a MUD not the city, having two meters made sense in Kingwood at least where they had different rates for water going to the sewer vs water going on the lawn.. Not sure if that is the case anywhere in the metrro but if you are in a MUD it might be worth checking and not assuming the answer is the same in the city.