As my water and sewer bills kept creeping up due to previous generations’ abdication of infrastructure maintenance leaving us holding the bag, I’ve been wondering about getting a water meter. Most residential water users in the city don’t have a water meter, so the city charges based on the number of rooms, toilets, baths, and showers at a residence. Rates are set by the Board of Aldermen.
| Room charge, each | $5.41 |
| Water closet, each | 21.19 |
| Baths, each | $17.78 |
| Shower, separate from bath, each | $17.78 |
| Sprinkling charge per foot of frontage | $0.36 |
For me that comes to $130.02 per quarter, $43.34 per month. MSD assumes what goes in must come out the other end so it charges based on the same factors.
| Unit of Measurement | Rate |
|---|---|
| Base charge | $30.14/mo. |
| Unmetered Volume | |
| Rooms Water Closets Baths/Showers | $3.14/ea./mo. $11.74/ea./mo. $10.05/ea./mo. |
For me that’s $97.39 per month. $140.73 per month total for water and sewer.
For metered users rates are a flat charge based on your service pipe size and volume used. Note in either case there’s no charge for the amount of pipe and other infrastructure it takes to serve your house resulting in a subsidy for spread-out places.
Nextstl – How We Subsidize Spread-out Places Via Utilities
I have 1″ service, so that’s $50.71 per quarter, plus
- For the first 25,000 cubic feet per billing, $2.54 per 100 cubic feet of water
- For the next 1,975,000 cubic feet per billing, $1.98 per 100 cubic feet of water
- Over 2,000,000 cubic feet per billing, $1.50 per 100 cubic feet of water
How much does the water department assume I’m consuming? $130.02-50.71 = $79.49/2.54*100 = 3,130 cubic feet * 7.48 gal/cu ft = 23,408 gallons/90 days = 260 gal/day. Really?!
MSD metered rates
| Unit of Measurement | Rate |
|---|---|
| Base Charge | $30.14 / month |
| Metered Volume | $6.18 / hundred cubic feet (CCF) |
Let’s calculate how much MSD assumes I’m putting out. $97.39-30.14 = $67.25/6.18 *100 = 1,088 cu ft * 7.48 gal/cu ft = 8,140 gal /30 days = 271 gal/day. Really?!
I’d be surprised if my water usage were more than 50 gal/day. I got the feeling that I was subsidizing MSD customers with water meters.
StlToday- Historic flooding on the Meramec River swamps Fenton sewage treatment plant
So I endeavored to get one.
Water meters can’t be installed in the basement where it’d be cheaper, they have to go outside in a vault in the tree lot. It was tough to find someone to do it, but I got an estimate for $3,200, which seemed like a lot for the amount of work. Is there anyone out there that does it for cheaper?
Let’s say my guess of 50 gal/day is right. My monthly usage charge would be $5.09 for water and $12.39 for sewer. A total of $17.48 for a savings of $76.20 per month. At that savings it would take just over 42 months to recoup the cost. That’s an annual rate of return of 28.6%. Better- the satisfaction of sticking it to the man and not subsidizing the takers on wide lots and in low lying areas that require expensive sewage pumping stations. At 75 gal/day it would take 47 months; 100 gal/day 54 months.
With the math indicating great return on investment, I had a meter installed last year. The plumbing company dug the hole and prepared it for the meter. The city installed the meter, which they did quickly after I requested it. Let’s see how close my prediction was. My most recent water bill showed 3.41 cf * 7.48 gal/cf /90 days = 28.3 gal/day. At that amount of usage I will have paid off the meter in 38 months. My only regret is not getting the meter right when I bought the house. I’d be thousands of dollars ahead by now.
You mileage will vary of course. If you are a family of six sharing one bathroom, you’re probably coming out ahead. If you are empty nesters with 2.5 baths spending three months a year in Florida, you’re getting hosed. Do the math!
