Why does clean water cost money?

There are many costs associated with providing clean water to consumers. Construction and maintenance of pipes, pumps, storage tanks, and other infrastructure; water treatment chemicals and other material; labor of water operators, meter readers, office workers; and energy used to power the system all contribute to the end costs paid on your bill. Your water system may have taken out loans to pay for construction. The cost of repaying those loans are figured into the cost of water as well over time.

Best practices of water utilities should including long-term planning and careful management of the income from water services being used for continuous upkeep and improvements in the water infrastructure.

What is covered in my water bill (2)?    

Most utilities will provide you with a detailed breakdown of charges on your bill. Some water utilities bill for both water entering the house and waste leaving the house. Usually there is only one meter. If you're curious about what surcharges are on your utility bill and what they mean, you can usually find that information either on the back or appendix of the bill or on your local water provider's website.

Many utilities use a combination of a fixed fee (or a base) and a variable fee (or total volume used) for their billing structure. Fixed charges include the price the customer pays as a base charge to help cover costs for maintaining infrastructure (the pipes, meters, tanks, treatment facilities) and repaying loans and bonds used that may have been used to build that infrastructure. Variable charges are the price the customer pays per volume of water used, which reflect the costs of providing water, such as costs for treatment and energy to move and deliver water. (3)

Usage 

The average residential consumer uses around 82 gallons per day per person (1). This means that a family of four would use about 10,000 gallons per month. Usage does vary by region, mainly due to differences in weather patterns, including temperature ranges  and amount of rainfall. Different utilities use different units for measuring water consumption by customers. The most common are centum cubic feet (CCF) and gallons. One CCF represents one hundred cubic feet of water and equals 748 gallons. (1)

Affordable water can be a problem, especially in over-stressed water systems and small rural communities where there are fewer consumers to share the burden of keeping water systems going. The federal government has created a program to help low-income families with their water bills, the Low Income Water Assistance Program (LIWAP). In Kentucky, people can apply for the LIWAP subsidy through their Community Action Agency office. To locate your local office, please call 800-456-3452 or visit www.capky.org/network.

Please see the next section for information on how to deal with complaints with your water system.