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Did you hear about the Ruidoso water department filtering the water before it was EPA tested? This was a couple years ago. I was in the habit of drinking the tap water, but no more after I got two bouts of giardia like symptoms and then found out our water wasn't fit to drink.
Eww. NOT fun.
But then again, I haven't drunk tap water anywhere on a regular basis since I left home to go to college in 1971. I grew up on fantastic tap water--and then got a very rude awakening in Lubbock--and other places as well. Midland was also nasty. Never could drink it there, even 30 years of it.
I have noticed a number of listings in Ruidoso that have RO water systems. In Alamo, it's pretty much the norm.
In Alamo, whole house water softeners and RO are very common.
Got used to lugging bottles of Culligan water home in Midland.
Here, I use both bottled (Glacier machine dispenser at each supermarket) water and Brita filter pitchers. The water is not bad at all out of the tap here. I've just gotten used to RO/bottled water, and have come to prefer the taste.
I must be on a different system from the one you're on because I've never once purchased bottled water for drinking and my tap water, while containing high hardness at times, has never given me digestive problems. I drink my recommended daily amounts straight from the tap and it tastes just fine to me. One exception is the water I use in my coffee maker - which is "distilled" water from Walmart, sold by the gallon. It keeps me from having to de-lime the coffee maker.
There is more to the local water story than what appears on monthly bills. The voters of the village recently approved bonds for upgrading the very unreliable older water lines throughout the village. IOWs, an increase in property taxes IN ADDITION to the increase in monthly usage fees/taxes.
I'm not sure what happened to the money that was once available since my neighborhood did undergo upgrading about 10 years ago - from an old 2" main to a new 6" one, resulting in much better water pressure at my house. Replacement of the pipe, which ran down the middle of the streets, also got us new pavement, which was sorely needed at the time. For whatever reason, that program was interrupted when it was supposed to have been funded already and scheduled to continue throughout the older parts of the village.
Another thing...the yard waste fee pays for the grapple trucks that are continually plying the village to pickup pine needles and tree trimmings. Yard waste is not supposed to be put in the dumpsters OR plastic bags, but rather piled up at curb side, and need not be next to dumpsters either.
The yard waste fee also funds the pickup of old mattresses, appliances, building material, etc. that people put next to the dumpsters. That pickup is done by village crews separate and apart from the yard waste crews and the trucks that empty the dumpsters. Additionally, dumpsters are in constant need of repairs which also comes out of the garbage fees.
For those with an interest in such matters, since I wasn't able to find the rate structure for village utilities on their web site, here is what I know about the change in water rates imposed a year ago:
Ruidoso Water Rates - 2014 Increases
The $28 minimum fee includes up to 3,000 gallons of water, down from the previous 4,000 gallons,
and represents an increase of $7.14 from $20.86 for residential customers each month. The minimum
charge covers general maintenance and capital maintenance fees, and a base rate.
For commercial customers, the minimum usage charge at $28 is a hike of $2.94 per month from $25.06.
Changes for residential commodity charges begin with 3,001 gallons. The new schedule is:
— $6 per 1,000 gallons for 3,001 gallons to 5,000 gallons
— $7 per thousand gallons from 5,001 to 7,000 gallons
— $14 per thousand gallons from 7,001 to 11,000 gallons
— $20 per thousand gallons from 11,001 gallons to 15,000 gallons
— $30 per thousand gallons from 15,001 to 20,000 gallons
— $42 per thousand gallons in excess of 20,000 gallons.
The new commodity rates for commercial users are:
— $6 per thousand gallons from 3,001 gallons per month to 50,000 gallons
— $7 per thousand gallons from 50,001 gallons to 250,000 gallons
— $8.50 per thousand in excess of 250,000 gallons.
3,000 gal./mo. is roughly 100 gal./day. Assuming 4 people per house that becomes 25 gal./person-day. If the house is equipped with low flow fixtures and appliances it is possible but not luxurious to live with that water use.
3,000 gal./mo. is roughly 100 gal./day. Assuming 4 people per house that becomes 25 gal./person-day. If the house is equipped with low flow fixtures and appliances it is possible but not luxurious to live with that water use.
The "village people" would do better forming a band rather than trying to actually run this town. That's as much as I'll say on that subject, but the fact is that there are numerous studies available on various web sites that say the AVERAGE monthly use for a family of four is 8,000 gallons. And that is for household use - and does not include watering outdoors. My use (~2,000/mo.) reflects the fact that I'm single and live alone and do little to no outside watering, but if I do water a few vital plants, my bill can easily exceed the 3,000/mo. minimum.
Not mentioned in all of the previous posts is the fact that there has been a "stage five" restriction on watering outdoors for several years now - meaning essentially that's it's forbidden.
The "village people" would do better forming a band rather than trying to actually run this town. That's as much as I'll say on that subject, but the fact is that there are numerous studies available on various web sites that say the AVERAGE monthly use for a family of four is 8,000 gallons. And that is for household use - and does not include watering outdoors. My use (~2,000/mo.) reflects the fact that I'm single and live alone and do little to no outside watering, but if I do water a few vital plants, my bill can easily exceed the 3,000/mo. minimum.
Not mentioned in all of the previous posts is the fact that there has been a "stage five" restriction on watering outdoors for several years now - meaning essentially that's it's forbidden.
"Irrigation" is not allowed anytime, as implied in the following from the village web site:
Quote:
Current Water Restriction Level
Phase 5
Lawn watering is prohibited unless you are on a private well.
Vegatable plants and fruit trees must be watered by hand by filling up a container and placing water in the bib around the plant or tree.
That misspelling of "vegatable" does not bode well for anyone dealing with the "village people."
I don't know why the village web site now has such a shortened published rule since it used to be more comprehensive and include such things as washing cars and use of unseen, buried drip irrigation, etc. I have never heard of anyone having to pay a fine for disobeying the water rules, in spite of a few homeowners who could afford to use over 100,000gal. per month of treated water.
"Irrigation" is not allowed anytime, as implied in the following from the village web site:
That misspelling of "vegatable" does not bode well for anyone dealing with the "village people."
I don't know why the village web site now has such a shortened published rule since it used to be more comprehensive and include such things as washing cars and use of unseen, buried drip irrigation, etc. I have never heard of anyone having to pay a fine for disobeying the water rules, in spite of a few homeowners who could afford to use over 100,000gal. per month of treated water.
Ouch. I thought you were kidding about "stage 5", as I had never heard of anything worse than 4.
Water here is relatively expensive, and added to everything else here that is also overpriced and expensive, I'm glad I put in mostly desert landscaping that requires little water.
"Vegatable?" Figures. It sticks out like a sore thumb, too.
Ouch. I thought you were kidding about "stage 5", as I had never heard of anything worse than 4.
I used to just ignore the rules myself, since I bought a house that USED TO HAVE a wind break of mature lombardy poplar trees, two mature apple trees and many decorative shrubs and flowering bushes. Because of the more frequent water restrictions, I lost the entire row of poplar trees, one apple tree is almost dead, and the other one hasn't had a single apple in the past two years.
I have only a few pine and fir trees and luckily (knock wood), I haven't had a tree affected by bark beetles as so many other homeowners have.
I would never advise anyone to move to this town if they love to garden, as I once did.
3,000 gal./mo. is roughly 100 gal./day. Assuming 4 people per house that becomes 25 gal./person-day. If the house is equipped with low flow fixtures and appliances it is possible but not luxurious to live with that water use.
Certainly is, but US average residential use is ~4x that amount...100 gal/day/person.
The 7k gallon number is the one you really want to stay under. Water and sewer and trash are going to be over $100/mo even if you don't use any, and as long as you use < 7k gallons/mo it only goes up $6-7 per thousand gallons when you get over 3k. For instance if you used just under 7k gallons you'd have to pay $26 over the base amount.
BTW, I installed a RO system in June for drinking water, and it's working fine. I had my doubts because most people told me it wouldn't work properly with excessively hard water. My tap water has ranged from 600-900 ppm which is several times the amount where water gets classified as "very hard" (180 ppm). I just checked it and it's 640 ppm out of the tap and 28 ppm out of the RO. It was cheap... $130 including a faucet that is prettier than anything else in the house. Even if I need to replace the membrane every year it will still only cost $50/year for cartridges. Works out to ~5 cents per gallon, and is a heck of a lot easier and cheaper than lugging 5 gal bottles around.
BTW joqua, our water hardness is past EPA limits, and I don't believe drinking it is the best long term health strategy even if it doesn't make you sick. The water only made me sick after the fire two years ago. We got a notice in the mail that it was contaminated a few months after the fact... probably because the water dept was caught filtering it before they tested it.
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Village of Ruidoso Water Rates...
