Water is excessively expensive. If drought is an issue, builders should be required to install "water harvesters" for each home and replace grass with gravel.

That is the norm for all utilities.

We have great water rates compared to other communities. You oughta see what on top of the word charges.

Something is wrong with your bill or your reading of it. Here’s my most recent bill.

Yes it’s disgusting how much money is wasted on water here in the Villages all just to have green grass which is near impossible to keep looking good.

The piping and pumps need to be maintained regardless of how much water used by you.

The same thing as on your electric bill and gas bill. There is a minimum maintenance charge and then the per unit charge.

Mine is always lush and green. I do no work to keep it that way. I get it mowed and I sect stuff and water it.

I suspect you need to water more. Like humans, grass needs water to survive.

The min fee is to ensure workers are paid all year and the pipes, pumps, etc, stay working all year.

Good Question!
 

Irrigation water is one more if the mysteries of life in the Villages! Maybe there's an added Gator excrement and fish poo charge!

I use an app to override and control my system. That way the Irrigation system doesn't go off during or after a good rainfall. The investment in the Hydrawise module is paying for itself over time.

If you’re only using 9 gallons a month to water your grass I’m glad im not your neighbor…

Bet you drove through , your first time here, and said WOW everything is so lush and green , beautifully maintained ! Now ya want to gravel over it ! Should have moved to Arizona where they gravel every yard or you could move to a CV where you are allowed to remove the grass and rock the yard. Sorry, makes me mad when people buy into a beautiful community only to want to change it cause they realize there is a cost to beauty. My son has a tiny yard in Virginia 2000sq ft home and his water bill is $400 a month . His taxes are 3x what mine are and he doesn’t get cheap golf.

It sure would be nice to see the bill. Could be any number of issues but without seeing the actual period of time on the bill, readings on the bill, and itemized numbers on the bill we don't really know enough to help.

9 gals/month is unreasonable but the meter could be broken (happened to me)

$50 for 9 gals (or 9,000 gals or two month's of bas rate or ...) is unreasonable.

$50 for the total utility bill doesn't make sense because there should be $150+ for amenities.

Something isn't right but without seeing the numbers on the bill it's impossible to figure out what.

My latest “not an HOA” bill shows an Irrigation Base Fee of $6.21 and an Irrigation Usage Fee of $12.30 for 5,720 Gallons! That comes out to $0.0032 per gallon! It appears you are not reading your “not an HOA” Utility Bill incorrectly.

My comments had nothing to do with comparing us to other states
 

[QUOTE=rsmurano;2438683]You think the villages is the only place that things have gone up during the last few years. We had a recession in 2022 when everything went up and have stayed higher. Compare our tax bills vs some of the states in the north and west, we pay very little compared to these states. You think insurance rates haven’t gone up elsewhere? I saw on tv that a couple in a smaller apartment in San Diego was paying $2000 for electricity!!! Let’s compare states that tax income (Florida doesn’t), how much are you saving? Gas is cheaper here than in the west, northeast.
The only thing that I don’t get here in Florida is the roof replacement cr@p after 10 years, I have never ran into this in other states. Shingles can last 2x or more than this, and from what I hear, they replace the plywood too. I believe the original post had to do with the ridiculous price of water used in the irrigation system in the villages so my comment centered around, living in the villages.

Above 466, where we irrigate with potable water instead of the "dirty" stuff, /the cost is as follows:

0-11,000 GAL @ $1.70/1,000 GAL

11,001-18,000 GAL @ $3.40/1000 GAL

18,001 AND UP @ $5.02/1000 GAL

All prices are apparently lower than the "dirty" water and significantly below a gallon of gas.