DEP- how much do you pay?

[CountValentine]

Ever heard of teenage girls taking hour long showers?

None of my three girls ever did that. 
You ever hear of the smoke detector going off from the steam when they open the door?

[YitzyS]

The last year, I paid about $16/month for each person living in the house (on average)

[ExGingi]

You ever hear of the smoke detector going off from the steam when they open the door?

I actually never heard of smoke detectors being triggered by steam.

My water & sewer bill is in the $600-$700 per quarter vicinity. 5 females over the age of 10 currently in my household. Other than my 9 year old son males don't regularly shower at home.

[CountValentine]

I actually never heard of smoke detectors being triggered by steam.

Neither have I until I ask our neighbor who is a fireman.

"Steam can set off a smoke detector. If your smoke detector is in proximity to your kitchen or bathroom, the density of the water vapor can mimic the smoke from a fire. Even humidity and dust can cause false alarms."

Have one smoke detector in the hallway right outside the bathroom.

[Yikes2179]

I actually never heard of smoke detectors being triggered by steam.

Happened all the time in my high school dorm

[etech0]

I've heard them go off from dust from construction

[skyguy918]

Is most of the bill in NY usage based? I've lived in 2 different places where the bill hardly varied from winter to summer, the majority of the cost was the monthly service fees. As in, $2.35 per CCF and $85 in service fees.

On my NYC DEP bills it says:

Water usage is measured and billed in Hundred Cubic Feet (HCF*).  Wastewater charges are billed based on water consumption.  If the minimum usage threshold is not met, you will be charged at the minimum daily rate.

There doesn't appear to be a service fee component (though I suppose minimum daily rate mimics that to some extent). I believe the current rates are $4.10 per HCF (hundred cubic feet, which is 748 gallons), and wastewater is 159% of that - for a total of ~$10.62 per HCF.

[avromie7]

On my NYC DEP bills it says:There doesn't appear to be a service fee component (though I suppose minimum daily rate mimics that to some extent). I believe the current rates are $4.10 per HCF (hundred cubic feet, which is 748 gallons), and wastewater is 159% of that - for a total of ~$10.62 per HCF.

That's pretty average. Actually surprising because NYC is usually much more expensive.

To check you toilet for leaks, flush the toilet and while the tank is refilling put a few drops of food coloring in the tank. Come back 10 minutes later, if you see any color in the bowl it means it's leaking.

Another test is to just turn off the water supply to the toilet, but it will take a few hours to see the level in the tank go down.

[skyguy918]

That's pretty average. Actually surprising because NYC is usually much more expensive.

Not according to the table of rates on the NYC water board's site - it's the highest it's ever been (though the year over year increases recently seem very low).

See the table at the bottom here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nycwaterboard/rates/rates-regulations.page

[ExGingi]

Not according to the table of rates on the NYC water board's site - it's the highest it's ever been (though the year over year increases recently seem very low).

See the table at the bottom here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nycwaterboard/rates/rates-regulations.page

Water is priced below cost for political and public policy reasons. In a free market it would probably be much more expensive.

[aygart]

Residential Water is priced below cost for political and public policy reasons. In a free market it would probably be much more expensive.

FTFY

[yos9694]

On my NYC DEP bills it says:There doesn't appear to be a service fee component (though I suppose minimum daily rate mimics that to some extent). I believe the current rates are $4.10 per HCF (hundred cubic feet, which is 748 gallons), and wastewater is 159% of that - for a total of ~$10.62 per HCF.

At that rate I wouldn't save any money even with my (relatively) low usage. We pay flat rate for water and sewer service ($66 and $31 per month) and variable 2.36 per HCF. The flat fees vary quite a bit depending on the size of your supply pipe

[avromie7]

Not according to the table of rates on the NYC water board's site - it's the highest it's ever been (though the year over year increases recently seem very low).

See the table at the bottom here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nycwaterboard/rates/rates-regulations.page

I'm talking about relative to the rest of the country. If you want expensive water, go check CLE.

I'm sure @Dan wishes he can pay $10 per HCF

[skyguy918]

I'm talking about relative to the rest of the country. If you want expensive water, go check CLE.

I'm sure @Dan wishes he can pay $10 per HCF

I forgot you're not in NYC, read your comment as saying NYC water is usually more expensive.