What’s Your Water Worth
Even in California, where water shortages are common, the cost of water is rarely considered by most residents. In most communities it’s still less than a penny per gallon at the tap. But if you stop to think about the time, technology, and money it takes to gather, treat, convey and distribute residential water, it’s a bargain at any price.
So what exactly determines the cost of your water? First, there are capital costs associated with building and maintaining the vast and complex water distribution system that brings water from its source to where you live. As you read in “Where Does Your Water Come From” on page 4, the water that reaches many California consumers often travels hundreds of miles and passes through dozens of reservoirs,storage facilities, power plants, aqueducts, canals, pipelines, and tunnels. These facilities were built and paid for by construction loans and other forms of financing that the users — you and the contracting agency that buys your water wholesale — must pay back over time.
Even the parts of the state’s vast water delivery system that were built many decades ago require ongoing funding. Aging parts must be upgraded, conduits extended to meet new needs, and advanced technologies introduced as they come along. And with these improvements, the ultimate costs must be passed along to the consumers. In some districts that lie far from the point of water origin, capital expenses and debt service can represent as much as 70 percent of the monthly water bill.
Operating expenses account for the other, generally smaller share of the bill. These costs include the day-to-day bulk purchase of water from a water supplier. They also go toward the salaries of the highly trained personnel, such as plant technicians, water engineers and managers required to maintain all the equipment and facilities. Substantial energy costs make up another portion — while many of our water systems generate hydroelectric power as a byproduct of storing and releasing large volumes of surface water, the power generated provides only about a third of the total energy needed to keep the system functioning. The rest must be paid for as a share of your water bill.
Consider, for example, what it takes to move water conveyed through the Delta by the California Aqueduct up and over the Tehachapi Mountains to customers in Southern California. Fourteen pumps at the Edmonston Pumping Plant on the northern edge of the mountains lift the entire aqueduct flow — as much as 33,000 gallons per second — nearly 2,000 feet high to get it to the other side. That feat takes a lot of electricity.
Meeting Regulations
Another big-ticket item is the cost of water treatment. A lot of effort goes into protecting water sources so that treatment is minimal, but in some areas costs are still substantial. Residential water has high safety and quality standards in California. Various treatment processes eliminate undesirable organisms and chemicals. Water is also treated for hardness, acidity, taste, odor and something called turbidity, which is how clear water looks in the glass. Water that is used strictly for irrigation and other agricultural purposes is generally purchased at considerably cheaper rates. This is mostly due to the fact that fewer treatment processes are involved.
Lastly, your water bill may reflect a share of the costs involved in managing environmental concerns, including the cost of alternative supplies your water district may need to purchase as a result of rules in place to protect species.
Metering Usage Aids Conservation
Whether your water bill is calculated based on a flat rate or a metered rate also plays a part in pricing. Flat rate payers pay a preset rate, often based on the size of house and lot. Metered rate payers are billed according to the number of units, called CCFs (1 CCF = 748 gallons), flowing into the house through the meter on their service pipe. On site readings are taken periodically by the utility’s meter reader or, in more modern versions, are sent via radiofrequency to a computer. Meters in most urban and suburban communities are located in a box set near the sidewalk or street. Legislation passed in 2004 calls for all remaining flat rate users to become metered with deliberate speed.
Metered water usage has proved to be a boon to conservation. Meters are excellent tools by which users can maintain greater individual control over water habits and keep water bills down. Many water agencies have or are adopting a tiered rate system that provides additional incentive to conserve. Customers pay a single lower rate for the first tier unit of water used (a figure based on estimated basic needs) and progressively higher rates for the second and third tier. As water shortages continue to be an issue for California, expect to hear more about this approach.
Making Sense of Your Water Bill
Your water bill contains valuable information that can help you keep track of your consumption. The data presented in the bill reflects the amount of water that has flowed through either a straight-reading or round-reading meter outside your home. Adopt new water-saving practices and then monitor the numbers on subsequent bills to see how you have managed water use. Two types of water meters are described below.
SRM
On the SRMs some of the calculation is already done and appears in a window marked “cubic feet.” Subtract the first four digits of the previous reading from the current reading to get the total cubic feet of water recorded during the time lapse. Charges are based on “units” used, each unit being 100 cubic feet (CCF). If you prefer to convert CCFs to gallons, multiply CCFs used by 748. (Many agencies use 1,000-gallon units, rather than 100.)
RRM
To read the many-dialed RRM, focus on the three dials at the top, starting with the 100,000 dial and read clockwise. If the hand on any dial is between two numbers, use the lower number in your calculations. Subtract your last reading from the current reading to get CCF usage, applying the same method described above to convert to gallons.
To check for leaks in your system turn off all faucets and do not flush toilets for 15 minutes. If the sweep hand on the SRM or the “one foot” dial on the RRM continues to move, you probably have a leak somewhere that needs fixing.