your bridge pic would either make me heave or crack open another quart !
Posted on 07/17/2005 8:20:06 AM PDT by The Other Harry
I just received my most recent monthly utility bill, and the sewer charge went from virtually nothing to $154.90.
The water charge changed almost none at all. About $40.
I've been trying to figure this out. "They" are supposed to come out and look at things Monday, and I would like to have some idea what I am talking about when I talk with them.
The man I spoke with on on the phone suggested that maybe one of of my toilets is leaking. That's not impossible, but I would think that would be reflected in the water charge as well as in the sewer charge.
My guesses are: 1) they hadn't read the meter in months; and 2) they made a mistake.
Any other possibilities?
Sorry to intrude on your discussion about sewer pits. Carry on.
Several.
But the most likely is that they diverted funds and needed to make up the shortage.
It is easier to justify a huge increase in the water going out, than in the water coming in. Environment, you know.
Has your local sewage treatment plant recently been ordered by a stupid court to make hundred million$ improvements?
Rofl
Total BS!
I don't want to be a nitpicker, but with sufficient patience ignorance can be cured. Therefore, in the vast scheme of things, it is bound and finite and may actually decrease with time as "right thinking" prevails. As a young child is "ignorant" and must be taught, or my father-in-law is rock hard stupid and nothing will change that, ever. Stupidity knows no bounds and is therefore infinite. The case is still out on hydrogen.
Regards,
GtG
Leave Harry alone.
LOL That's just what I was thinking.
Maybe we all should post our mundane monthly billing disputes on the forum. We could call it "BillingDisputeRepublic." ;-)
It totally violates the laws of entropy.
Check your bill very closely in the tiny print. If they are "estimating" that's generally reported as well as the last actual reading date. I don't know if that is universal practice but Wisconsin utilities seem to follow it.
Another point, does your water meter have a small plastic box attached by wire to the actual brass in-line meter? If so you might be set up for remote reading via your phone line (the next NEW thing!). You may also have a remote box mounted on an outside wall which echos the meter reading. That way the "meter reader" can read your consumption without entering your home.
In any case, the readings are cumulative and you should be able to read the meter yourself and reconcile it with the bill's reading. The closer to their reading date that you check the actual consumption, the closer their numbers should come to yours. Another thing to check is your water usage over several months time. Discounting lawn and garden watering and car washing, your water usage should be nearly constant year round. If you see a big spike lately, you may have a leak somewhere (underground?). That happened to me and I'm on a private well.
Regards,
GtG
Ah Grasshopper,
You are mistaking stupidity for ignorance, a common mistake and easy to do. The "litmus" test is whether the person you are attempting to grace with your wisdom does not stop talking and actually listen when you are speaking and does he/she then respond by rephrasing the original question? If either or both of these is true I'm afraid you are facing invincible stupidity rather than mere ignorance and are therefore wasting your time. The correct response under these circumstances is "I'm sorry, I thought you were merely ignorant. But now I see you are truly unfathomably stupid and therefore beyond my help. I suggest you wear a sign that says "I'm Stupid" to save everyone's time in the case of future conversations."
Regards,
GtG
PS I did say "stupidity knows no bounds and is therefore infinite". That implies that there is more then enough to go around.
Where I come from, the sewer outflow is not monitered. The water bill is multiplied by some factor and that is the sewer bill.
Do they really moniter sewer outflow in other parts of the country on a house by house basis?
> Do they really moniter sewer outflow in other parts of
> the country on a house by house basis?
Don't know. I'm going to find out.
*LOL*!
Now that's funny, I don't care who ya are
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