[theorem painter]

[/QUOTE]
Why does a customer pay a base rate and then a graduated amount? The graduated rate begins at 0.

there are also additional charges for maintenance/upkeep, etc

I believe water to be more expensive here than any other state in which I lived.[/QUOTE]

I thought the same thing about water being more expensive here until I looked at an old water bill from New York. The price per gallon here is less but we only paid the access fee once a year which is equal to the cost that we pay here monthly. What I don't understand is how clean drinking water can be cheaper than dirty irrigation water?