Submitted by The_Waxies_Dargle t3_ydxta4 in baltimore
We went from $80/quarter to $120 a month. And the consumable aspect of that is about less than half.
At what point does this bill, to a captive audience, stop going up?
Comments
NewrytStarcommander t1_ituysix wrote
You should be able to apply for an abandonment on the property with no connection, I don't know the process or cost in Baltimore.
sllewgh t1_ituzohk wrote
What does that entail? Does it get me out of ownership or just the water bill?
NewrytStarcommander t1_itv1z1o wrote
Abandonment of the water connection. Doesn't affect property ownership. Though I don't know Baltimore's rules on this- it occurred to me that there still might be a stormwater fee for impermeable surfaced properties or something. Check DPW website, they'll have guidance on abandonment, or give them a call.
sllewgh t1_itv2kq8 wrote
I think it is a storm water fee, but frankly I haven't done anything to address the problem besides complain. I'll check out my options, thanks!
BmoreInterested t1_itvfbex wrote
I have a similar situation with no water hookup at all on the separate parcel and I pay $6.70 a month.
DamionFord t1_itvhcgs wrote
You're paying for storm water management. That's the cost of owning impermeable surfaces
sllewgh t1_itvjla6 wrote
I don't mind paying for our infrastructure, but a quarter of the cost is just in bill pay fees because there's no way to consolidate these associated properties and pay the bills together.
DamionFord t1_itvjtdd wrote
Yeah. It's a completely imperfect system that needs a complete overhaul. I agree with that. It's silly to separate properties in this day in age.
theyoungbloody t1_itv51p3 wrote
For those not in the loop, years ago the city used to bill quarterly for the year with a bill coming every 3 months. ~2015/16 they switched to monthly.
We would get the infrastructure/acct management/stormwater/etc fees 4 times a year. Now we get them 12 times a year. So 12 extra payments (correction I suck at math, 8 extra payments) that are just fees instead of actual consumed water.
As someone that's lived here and watched the price go up, I support his sentiment.
luchobucho t1_itvjsns wrote
“So 128 extra payments that are just fees instead of actual consumed water”
It seems perhaps you don’t understand how the fee structure works? The variable consumption fee is for water/sewer use. I.e. the treated drinking water/sewage.
The infrastructure fee is to cover the maintenance of the collection system (sewers) and distribution system (water mains). It’s not a variable fee because the costs are based on assets which don’t generally change month to month.
It’s honestly a more transparent way to do billing. It decouples the cost of treating water from the cost of maintenance (O vs M).
theyoungbloody t1_itvqlyt wrote
No I know how the fee structure works.
I understand what the fees go to (well what they are supposed to go to). I don't recall we ever had the $4.99 "account maintenance fee" before. Now we get it 12 times a year.
The water consumption has stayed constant, it's the price per CC of water that's went up, PLUS all the extra fees EVERY month. The fees were not as high as they are now when we had quarterly billing.
luchobucho t1_itv4a6m wrote
I suspect the historically low water rates were just underfunding repairs both at the treatment plants and collection (sewers) and distribution( water mains). If you look at how much water main has been replaced per year over the last 50 years it’s been abysmal. And now we are paying for it.
Infrastructure costs money to maintain. It’s not sexy. And since politicians control these things they don’t want to look unpopular spending money to take care of stuff.
csher90210 t1_itvim53 wrote
Yasss!!!!
poppunksnotdead t1_ituuqup wrote
like half of my monthly charge is an infrastructure fee for the meter, my bills used to be similar, from $100 a quarter ish for almost forever give or take, to $100 a month.
mrm0324 t1_itw6tpo wrote
My bill is around $50 before o even use any water due to fees. Such BS.
npmoro t1_itxdy9k wrote
Just know that they don't pay for the water. That is provided by nature for free. It is all effectively an infrastructure fee. It's just that some is paid for having a water hookup and some paid based on usage.
NewrytStarcommander t1_ituodto wrote
Why has it increased that much? Seems likely you have something leaking. The rates went up in July I think, but not that much- mine went from like $82/month to $87/month. Yours went from $27/month to $120 a month so something is way off (though how the heck you were at $27/month I have no idea- the base infrastructure charge is more than that- maybe you had a credit that was being applied pro-rated? Or something wrong with your prior billing). So I'd be really drilling in and looking at your consumption data on the portal- if it shows consumption during nightime hours on the dashboard, there's your culprit. For reference I use 2 CCF for a single person, watering some plants outside but otherwise being pretty careful with my use, 5/8" service inlet.
malakamanforyou t1_ituopvr wrote
He’s talking over the past few years.
NewrytStarcommander t1_ituphr4 wrote
Me too, I bought my house 3.5 years ago, and has only gone up twice, and by minimal amount. The why is the consent decree and the aging infrastructure. The increase the OP is talking about is definitely not tracking the last few years of rate increases but is reflecting something else.
danhalka t1_itutdwn wrote
There are not enough specifics in the post to draw that (or any) conclusion. I can back OP's general sentiment. If you've owned a home in the city for the last ~20 years you might interpret the post as I have.
Costs go up, infrastructure ages. It makes sense. but it used to be that living inside the city compared to the next block across the county line meant paying a "premium" in the form of property taxes, certain insurance rates, and for a fortunate few, private school tuition. Now water bills are, for reasons both understandable and lamentable, an additional "premium" for city residents.
The_Waxies_Dargle OP t1_ituvam4 wrote
Oh this is super helpful.
So I'm showing zero consumption during nighttime.
What seems odd is that our usage is one of two numbers: 2992 or 3740. It's one of these two numbers going back to July of 2021, when it's either 4488 or 3740. I don't see a pattern at all, it alternates and then will go several months the same.
Does this seem normal.
mixolydienne t1_itux11x wrote
Yes, water is billed in units of CCF (100 cubic feet). 4 CCF = 2992 gallons, and 5 CCF=3740 gallons, etc. It alternates because your usage is somewhere in the middle.
Jack_Ash_ t1_itv9iam wrote
The increases shall be discontinued upon permanent relocation of your domicile outside of the Baltimore City and county limits. May the wind be at your back, the sunshine in your face, and the street rise up to meet you on your way out. I’ll be on that very path in three weeks. Poof 💨
nitsky416 t1_itwtbqv wrote
You can move outside the URDL and become your own water utility!
Ask me what happens when your well collapses! (Spoiler: Out $30k to drill a replacement)
Jack_Ash_ t1_itwxshm wrote
Don’t need to, I have three wells in Vermont, two streams and one spring on the edge of a pasture. Married to a civil engineer who is a SME in ice/snow. Water, I get.
I don’t get being held captive by urban utilities, they are bloodsuckers. Given the chronic issues with wastewater facility fiascos and the fragility of Baltimore’s infrastructure…citizens should be getting paid.
Squigs_ t1_itvjkzd wrote
So it’s not just me! I live in Mount Vernon and my water bill is about triple what I used to pay for water when I lived in a literal desert (Arizona) a few months ago. OP, you find any answers yet on why water is so outrageous here?
Opposite_Selection_3 t1_ituyfiv wrote
I live in Guilford where I believe we have an infrastructure fee on the bill for the reservoir project however the bill has been very steady for about 5 years now, maybe longer. You might have a small leak that has not exploded to a major leak. When that happens you see it on the bill.
BJJBean t1_itwhrbg wrote
The vast majority of your bill is taxes and fees, not usage. Baltimore infrastructure is crumbling and these fees are used to make crucial repairs to a wildly neglected system.
To realistically answer your question on when will the increases stop, the best answer I can think of is "Long after we are dead" because it will take decades to fix a system that has been neglected for decades.
skeenek t1_itusm5v wrote
You absolutely have a leak of some sort somewhere. The average water bill has not increased 400% in any recent amount of time.
IncidentNo4550 t1_itvrydq wrote
Not "recent" as in a couple of months, but they've grown a lot over time.
If I'm correctly interpreting the "Historic Rate Increases" on the DPW website (https://publicworks.baltimorecity.gov/proposed-rates), then the water and wastewater rates (which don't include things like account management and stormwater fees) have increased 333% since I bought my house in 2009.
And over the last 20 years, they've increased 580%. Cumulative inflation (according to https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/) has been about 65% over the same 20 years.
That's pretty significant.
lincoln_hawks1 t1_itw1prh wrote
Wow. I do not miss this part of being a homeowner in Baltimore. The constant hikes and bs fees. I can’t say I miss the place. Except for the 32 oz crab cakes at Michael’s steak and lobster house on Eastern
S-Kunst t1_itwfdz5 wrote
City residents are still subsidizing all the new county hook ups, and replacing our own beat up infrastructure.
[deleted] t1_ituvuni wrote
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Tim_Y t1_itvrfic wrote
120 / mo is pretty standard and IMO even a little on the low side. I have several properties in the city and those bills usually fall between $170 and $220 per month for families of 3 or 4.
The_Waxies_Dargle OP t1_itvsi8o wrote
So taking your number(s) as an ave, $195, x 12 = $2,340 is what a family of 3 should expect for a waterbill each year? Because that seems awfully high for something the city provides to residents at scale.
Tim_Y t1_itvx0wt wrote
Don't get me wrong, I think the bills are ridiculous, but that's what I've been seeing in my rentals for yrs and when I used to live in the city. I think years ago mine were about $70/mi and it slowly crept up to $120 - $150.
Water bills are public info, so you can see for yourself by punching in your neighbors addresses. I've done that and found an alarming amount of my neighbors were behind thousands of dollars.
gizmojito t1_itxtpum wrote
The bill for my household of two adults is about $66 / mo. Our average usage is 2 CCF. We are very, very frugal. (eg, I water my plants with my dehumidifier water. We take very short showers.)
LaraineAgain t1_itw2t8g wrote
My family of four pays $265 a month — but we should use less water for sure. But I bet we could only get down to $225 w a lot of conservation.
LaraineAgain t1_itw1p8y wrote
Ours have steadily gone up too — we have a small apartment building with four apartments, at any given time we have 5 people living in our building. I pay the water bill. In 2011 it was $120 every 3 months. Now it’s $250 every month. We don’t have leaks. It’s just steadily increased over time. There was that 33% increase about 5 years ago that was implemented by 11% per year — that’s when they switched to monthly payments so people wouldn’t get sticker shocks w their bills. And I believe it again went up another 30% recently. I wouldn’t have such a problem with paying a lot for water if the city’s public works were run better — but they are a disaster. The constant water billing fiascos are a nightmare — there is zero competency in this area of city governance— it’s actually frightening.
Ivebeenchickensouped t1_itwhn82 wrote
It stops going up when you move to the county.
sllewgh t1_ituy4rk wrote
My home and my parking pad across the alley are two separate parcels of property purchased as a pair. That means I get a water bill for my home, plus a separate 12$ bill with a 3$ service charge for an 18x18 square of concrete with absolutely no water infrastructure.