Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Seattle Utility Bills Going Through the Roof!
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October 24, 2009 at 8:31 am #592779
jeanieMemberHas anyone else seen a big jump in their Seattle Combined Utility (water, poop, garbage) bills? Mine was a shocker: $210 – and this is for a two-person household (and no, we don’t have an indoor lap pool, nor are we water hogs). Is this normal? Where is the regulation? Hey, I’m willing to pay for services, but this is ridiculous. I wonder if our mayoral candidates have the guts to address this issue.
October 24, 2009 at 8:49 am #680841
transplantellaParticipantI think utilities in Seattle are DIRT cheap.
We paid nearly $500 a month in Texas for electricity in an 800 sq. foot house. Water in the summer ran another $200 or so a month. Homeowners insurance another $200 or so a month.
Utilities/insurance ran us twice the monthly cost of the mortgage in Texas.
Here, the killer cost is the property taxes, not the utilities.
In America you’re gonna pay one way or another. Get used to it. Pay now or pay later. Pay the high taxes, or the outrageous utilities, or pay the exorbitant insurance. Any which way you’re taken to the cleaners.
You just get to choose where you want to live and which bill picks your pocket.
October 24, 2009 at 2:52 pm #680842
EscondidoMemberJeanie, I agree. I’ve contacted the water department about the cost and they just encourage our family to keep on with our water conservation practices. Our last bill was $282. for a family of four. My sister, who lives near Riverside, California, pays much less for her water, and she basically lives in a desert. I think the real problem is that wages are flat and so many of our other living expenses have increased such as food and health care. My son complained last night that we were having pasta again – pasta and rice and bean dishes seem to be our mainstays of late. My husband and I are just grateful that we both have jobs!
October 24, 2009 at 3:02 pm #680843
hammyMemberWas there a large jump in all your utilities or just water? We had a large jump in our water bill 1 1/2 years ago and after trying to conserve more, talking to water department, etc, we found out there was a leak in the water line coming in from the street. We replaced the pipe from the street into the house and that solved the problem. Our combined util. bill (water, sewer, solid waste) for family of four is about $120.
October 24, 2009 at 3:12 pm #680844
EscondidoMemberHammy, you are doing really well than. The water department confirmed that our bill for a family of four was “right on target”.
October 24, 2009 at 3:26 pm #680845
miwsParticipanthammy brought up my first thought. The possibility of a leak.
I’ve been in an apartment for 9.5 years now, so haven’t received/been directly responsible for a water bill for that long, so don’t remember if they have a current year to last year by service period comparison listed on the bill, as City Light does. And, if so, is it broken down into how much used/whatever rate, for each time period?
Weren’t garbage rates increased earlier in the year? Or did you already take that into consideration? If you get siginificantly more feedback here, stating that others have not experienced such a sudden, sharp, increase, I’d definitely look into the possibility of a leak.
Good luck on this! It definitely sucks to be trying to do the right thing environmentally, only to feel like you’re being “punished” in doing so! :-/
Mike
October 24, 2009 at 3:29 pm #680846
dhgParticipantOur house, family of two, averages 88 gals/day, for a bill of $161. This was higher than our usual because we had put in new plantings and were watering our lawn heavily for a week.
October 24, 2009 at 5:36 pm #680847
MTMParticipantI get uneasy when I hear or read statements like “Get used to it” or “You’re gonna pay one way or another.” Sort of reminds me of the saying that annoys me the most – “It is what it is” which feels like lethargy to me. I personally think lethargy is dangerous to democracy, even at the lesser levels of government, like utility bills. Just a little personal agitation on my part.
It’s true our utility bills might be cheaper than elsewhere, but that bill might still be a hardship. I’d say, check on your billing if there has been a dramatic uptick. Question it, request a breakout of past yearly billings at that address to compare with the current year, keep an eye on your personal usage from month to month to see if there are wild swings in the bill and ask for a meter check to insure it’s working properly (meters can go haywire sometimes). By the way, sewage is based on water flow – there’s no sewage/poop meter… :) There might be a problem somewhere like other postings have suggested.
My last bill was $226 for a 2-person household. That included a month with 4 people from out-of-town for two days, so extra showers and cooking/dishes each day, and we have a small pond which we supplement with water twice a month in warm weather, not to mention a yard which we water frequently through mid-September.
October 24, 2009 at 6:20 pm #680848
DianeParticipantyes, check for a leak; even very small leak can add up to a lot of $$$; about 10 yrs ago I had a HUGE jump in water/sewer, called them to find out why; they said mostly often it’s a leak in the toilet; had it checked; yep, it was the toilet, which was very old, possibly original in 1947 house; after toilet was replaced, water/sewer bill went WAY down
October 24, 2009 at 6:35 pm #680849
sam-cParticipantyes, check for leaks especially a leaky toilet.
also, we replaced our toilet with a dual flush toilet, and our bill went down by $ 35/ $ 40.
and don’t forget, that bill is for 2 months. I always have to remember that.
October 24, 2009 at 8:00 pm #680850
DianeParticipanthow timely; just saw this on sidebar of http://www.quicknbrite.com/about/
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“Fix those leaking and dripping faucets as soon as possible. A dripping faucet can waste up to 20 gallons of water per day. A leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons every day.”
October 24, 2009 at 9:10 pm #680851
jeanieMemberThanks for the great feedback and suggestions. Oh, and MTM, I agree with you 100% when you wrote: “I get uneasy when I hear or read statements like “Get used to it” or “You’re gonna pay one way or another.” Sort of reminds me of the saying that annoys me the most – “It is what it is” which feels like lethargy to me. I personally think lethargy is dangerous to democracy, even at the lesser levels of government, like utility bills. Just a little personal agitation on my part.
You expressed it beautifully! I think people (especially Seattleites) sometimes fall into the danger of being too complacent and passive.
October 24, 2009 at 10:15 pm #680852
hammerheadParticipantHate to beat a dead dog. but to pay for the tunnel they did say they were going to increase utilities bills. now i don’t when they were going to start that. so that may be one reason.
October 25, 2009 at 3:43 am #680853
inactiveMemberOMG, yes! Check if your toilet is running or you have ANY drips from faucets. A stupid running toilet nearly tripled my bill. All I needed was a new tank part gizmo for less than $10 and I did not need a plumber for that either. Just asked the hardware store people how to do it. Thank God for hardware stores people.
October 25, 2009 at 4:01 am #680854
jeanieMemberAnd checking the toilet is dummy-proof. Tanks a lot, everyone! :)
October 25, 2009 at 4:04 am #680855
inactiveMemberLol!
October 25, 2009 at 5:22 am #680856
BonnieParticipantI’ve noticed ours go up, but I am in charge of paying my Dads bills (he lives in Burien) and I think his are higher than mine.
October 25, 2009 at 5:23 am #680857
BonnieParticipantwestseattledood, a few years ago our toilet was running and my husband brushed it off (I blame it on him…lol..but I could have taken care of it too because I’m not helpless) when we got the bill our combined bill was almost $700! We fixed the toilet that very day.
October 25, 2009 at 5:31 am #680858
inactiveMemberWow Bonnie. I didn’t take THAT big of hit! Ouch!!! And, for sure, blame the spouses/partners, if ya’ got one! ;)
October 25, 2009 at 5:37 am #680859
BonnieParticipantYeah, well that time of the year it was normally around $400 or so and it shot way up. Of course, since the bill only comes every 2 months…it was probably going on for awhile. Yep, blame it on the spouse. Or maybe the cat…
October 25, 2009 at 6:14 pm #680860
luckymom30ParticipantA couple years ago we bought a dehumidifier and it warms the house better than the electric heat! Can’t believe how much water it sucks up. Cost $150.00 and well worth it.
October 25, 2009 at 10:12 pm #680861
jeanieMemberHammerhead, thanks for your info re the possible connection between utility bills and tunnel costs. And I have a funny feeling that there will be signifant cost overruns (not with the toilet, but with the tunnel). Not saying if I am pro- or anti-tunnel – that’s a whole ‘nother matter, but these massive projects do tend to get expensive. And guess who ends up paying!
October 26, 2009 at 7:03 am #680862
mrhinehMemberYou can always check your meter at the street too. Make sure all water is turned off, and check the dial if it is still running, or moves in an amount of time.
I tend to agree, the rates have been moving higher and higher.
October 26, 2009 at 7:38 pm #680863
seattleamigaMemberI just got a $500 water bill (normally less than $100). When I called I was advised to read the meter. The reading was off by A LOT!! A high bill does not necessarily mean a leak – thank God!! I called in again and all is well.
October 26, 2009 at 7:42 pm #680864
cakeitseasyMember“these massive projects do tend to get expensive. And guess who ends up paying!”
So,who should be paying? It’s not free.
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