I bet the city has been making money hand over fist during this drought. Not to mention they have raised rates thru the roof over the past few years.;
The top five water bills for one month range from $1,800 to almost $2,500 or 231,000 gallons.
“As you look at the amount of gallons they use, 230,000 plus gallons, that’s an extraordinary amount of gallons to use in a one-month time period,” Borchardt said.
Borchardt, who has been with public works for four years, says he’s never seen bills this high. Â To put it in perspective, that $2,500 water bill is more than 231,000 gallons, enough to fill the Terrace Park swimming pool almost one and a half times.
Really? Your grass is that important? Wow, get a life!
I wonder if there are any coding errors occurring (ie. a multi-unit dwelling, apartment building or some kind of combined use building gets coded as single-family). Or even worse I wonder if there isn’t a huge leak somewhere – I knew of a someone in the home country whose 1″ water main under the house broke and leaked hundreds of dollars worth of water without even knowing it.
By restricting my ability to water and keep my lawn green, the city is enacting class warfare. Where is Plaintiff Guy when I need him to rescue me from this Home Ruled government tyranny? Should I just keep watering and tear up the citations they give me because they aren’t enforceable? Should I mow my grass shorter so it will die faster? Should I let my dog poop the neighbor’s yard? Is it OK to water my bushes and wash my car with my neighbor’s hose?
So by not approving of watering, you would rather the city run out of water.
1. Water is too cheap in Sioux Falls. Way, way, way too cheap.
2. Sioux Falls pours 50% of its treated water on the ground.
3. Raising the price of water will force conservation or force mega-users to drill and maintain their own well – with a junior water right.
4. There is a logic to Corps of Engineers charging for water from the Missouri River – it may assist with water conservation because, evidently, some didn’t get the word to conserve.
AG – I’m all for the tiered billing system and people using as much water as they want. I laugh at people who have $2,500 to spend on ‘GRASS’. I wish I had $2,500 dollars to spend on ‘GRASS’.
“Gas, grass or ass – nobody rides for free.”
I find it a bit hard to believe anyone is capable of spending that kind of money on a lawn. I mean I try to water my grass to keep it alive (although far from a thick green carpet some people have), and my highest water bill ever was $125 when I was trying to start some new grass. Typically I’m down in the $70 range and in the winter it is about $30-35.
How the hell can someone blow $2500 on water in a single month? I can’t even fathom that. I tend to learn towards what Muqhtar suggested and these meters might be coded incorrectly. If a single homeowner is using that volume of water, their addresses should be posted so they can become part of the wall of shame.
I do have a neighbor that waters every other day or so… and I think he waters twice a day on those days. However I suspect he has a well because his driveway, sidewalks, and curbs are rust stained from the water… and that wouldn’t happen with city water. They guy has a nice lawn though – it looks like a fairway of a country club even in the hottest days of the summer.
I’m more the type to just water enough to prevent the weeds and crabgrass from taking over, but I’m not going to blow enough money to keep it lush and green. I’d rather have the green in my pocket instead of the green on my grass… but that’s just me.
Craig – like I said, ‘Vanity’ some people just can’t stand the fact that them may not be able to keep up with the Jones. I love it, because people like this only support my argument that you can’t buy taste.