Somebody must pay, watering the beautiful flowers on the turnpike isn’t free… When you exceed your Base Rate, you pay dearly… be glad you have water

Wildwood Utility Dependent District purchased the utility systems from the developer.
While being in the public interest, sometimes the purchase price means that rates may go up to fund the purchase. Was the entity sold at a fair price, I am on the NSCUDD not the WUDD board so I will not comment.

Public Portal • CivicClerk

Do check for leaks. One easy way to do so involves turning off all fixtures in the house and observing the water meter; if the tiny float in the meter is moving then you have a leak. One rather insidious leak can be in your toilet bowl wherein the shutoff valve malfunctions causing the water in the tank to fill to the level of the overflow drain port. Water is continuously draining out the overflow port and you never hear it. Happened to a friend.

The developer has more to do with the water/sewage bill than you are giving them credit for.

- the meters were chosen by the developer and installed by the developer then sold to the CDDs. I own my house and am responsible for my house but I did hammer one nail into the framing or the roof and I did not install one inch of water line, the developer did all that. If something goes wrong it is my responsibility to repair but I know who was involved in the initial construction. If there is something wrong with the meters, it wasn't the NSCUDD who selected the manufacturer.

- reading of the meters and sending out bills seems to be done through the VCCDD which is a board chosen by the developer. Yes, this simply could be taking advantage of resources that are already in place but it is still involvement by the developer.

- testing of meters seems to be done through the VCCDD also

- the water/sewer infrastructure was designed and built by the developer then sold to the CDDs

- the maintenance of the infrastructure became the responsibility of the CDDs after the system was purchased from the developer. The need for such a substantial rate increase so soon after purchase raises questions about the way the system was presented and the way the CDD was represented at the sale time. Certainly, everything may have been above board and it's just unfortunate that maintenance costs have increased, but it does raise questions.

- the pressure on the NSCUDD to raise rates seems to be coming from the VCCDD. Again, this may be due to an efficiency decision where NSCUDD utilizes District Staff rather than duplicating efforts, but it is still involvement by the developer

So no, the developer does not decree what my water/sewer rates will be. However, the developer did build and sell the infrastructure that my rates need to maintain and the developer is advising the NSCUDD that my rates need to increase.

A few thoughts:

- Did you receive notice from your utility that the rates would be increasing 30%?
UPDATE: A post below notes that the WUDD/SSU increased water rates effective 2/1/23. The resolution and new rates can be found in the agenda items for the WUDD meetings. Fenney/Desoto were enjoying water rates lower than the rest of the SSU customers. As of 2/1/23 their rates were increased significantly to be the same as the rest of SSU.

- Did your usage increase 30% resulting in the increase in your bill?

- Others have mentioned the 20,000+ gal months that some have been reporting but if you were experiencing that then your bill should have increased much more than 30%

- If the increase was just in irrigation (or if your system uses potable water for irrigation) then it could be a broken sprinkler head causing a geyser when it runs.

- You can always go out and read your own meter to see if it matches the numbers on your bill (it most likely does)

The post is correct. Water was $1.79 per 1000 gal. It was raised to $6.14 per 1000 gal. Sewage was $4.89 per 1000 gal. It was raised to $7.19 per 1000 gal. These numbers are for the first 3000 gal. The water base rate was $9.25. It was raised to $10.87. An average water bill should go up less than $25.00. My bill indicates this applies to the villages of Fenny and Desoto.

Thanks, that’s NOTHING but very kind of you. I’ve got the timer no problem it’s the time that I need help with. What is the primo time for the water other than throughout the night.

I was catching hell at the other house for doing it my way but until the last year we were there my lawn was like a green carpet. At the new house they replaced the sod almost completely and it is healthy. I just don’t want to get murdered on the water bill. We already waste enough waiting for hot water in the master bath.

Thanks for the helping hand. Your the man.

Right now my sprinklers start at 5:00am. In another month or so when it gets hotter and I start running the sprinklers longer I'll change to 4:00am.

Watering information including recommended start times can be found on the Water Wisdom page.

There is the answer, the Utility overpaid when purchasing the assets. Someone has to pay for that mistake, and that someone is collectively the customers of the utility.

Is it just me or is it strange that we are charged for water in, water out AND sewage? Three costs. Am I missing something?

There are only two costs, water through the meter and sewage (based on the water amount).

What is the third cost?

Irrigation water in.

If that's the third cost then I don't know what is strange about it.

If you have a separate irrigation line (I do) then there are two water lines to your house, each with a separate meter and separate charge. Since it will go down the sewer, potable water to your faucets, shower, and toilets is then assessed a sewer charge as well. (Since irrigation water does not go down the sewer there is no sewage charge for that.)

I don’t know what they mean by water out. I don’t have that charge on my bill. Potable water, irrigation water and sewage.