[I B Papa]

Just received our first water bill, and were shocked to discover that it was over $200. The lion's share of the bill was for irrigation water. We have discussed it with a couple of lawn care contractors in hopes of changing our landscaping to require WAY less water, but were told that our ideas would never be approved by the ARC because we wanted to replace all of our grass with attractive (and expensive) draught tolerant plants. The last two places we lived (Lincoln, CA and Melbourne, FL) both used reclaimed water for irrigation, and both charged only $5/month for unlimited use, so this was a really big surprise to us. Are we unique with such a high water bill? Or are we just whining about an expense that all TV residents have to just live with? I B Papa

[Trish Crocker]

200 per month?? every month??

[pooh]

That bill does seem very high. Is your amenity fee also on your bill....it is included in the VCDD Utilities bill. There is also a charge for sewer as well as trash collection and also your household water.

I have lots of land and my irrigation bill this month was about $33.00...my entire bill totaled $224.

[Pturner]

Hi I B Papa,
Welcome to TOTV!

Does the $200 include your amenities fee? If not, check the settings on your irregation system. It has four programs, and it could be that all of them are set to run. A neighbor can probably help you with this if you don't know how to program it.

If overwatering is not the problem, cheek the meter and see if it's running when your water isn't. you could have a leak.

Please keep us posted on how the problem is resolved.

BTW, I bet you are a proud grandpa. Now that's special!

[vj1213]

Mine was $258 with about $75 being irrigation.

[harbor53]

Are Villagers allowed to collect rainwater for irrigation?

[skip0358]

If it's your 1st bill and it's a new home your system is probably set for seven day watering # 1, that bill also includes your potable water, your sewer fee and your garbage pickup. If it's all water I would check your settings they're probably set for many days watering at longer then needed periods of time.

[Pookirgirl]

A neighbor of ours had Pooters put in astroturf in the entire front yard! Not sure if I like the way it looks...of course it WILL cut back on mandatory lawn maintenance and watering!!! Check it out on Little Mountain Loop in Duval.

[NicknBabs]

Our first bill last month was $230; the system is set to run 2x weekly, Mon and Thurs nite. It used about 14K of water for irrigation, while 3500 gal for personal use. Water accounted for about $65 of the total; the rest was amenities and sewer/trash fees and I did not think it was outrageous.

In NJ we are paying 255 per quarter just for water...and most houses are seasonal rentals.

I aint complaining.....

[bimmertl]

Water bill figures are meaningless unless you are aware of the lot size. I know of quite a few people with premier homes and large lots who have had their monthly "water" portion of their bill exceed $200 on a regular basis during the dry portion of summer.

[buggyone]

If the water portion of your bill seems too high, you might want to check for leaks. To do this, carefully take up the water meter cover in your front yard (green plastic) and look at the little triangle on the meter. If it is going around when no water is turned on in the house, you have a leak.

If you do not feel comfortable checking yourself, you can call VCDD Utilities at 750-0000 and they will have a technician check it for you. It is a free service.

You will want to also check your timer on your irrigation system. I have mine for one day a week and that seems to be plenty of water for the lawn and plants.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by I B Papa

Just received our first water bill, and were shocked to discover that it was over $200. The lion's share of the bill was for irrigation water. We have discussed it with a couple of lawn care contractors in hopes of changing our landscaping to require WAY less water, but were told that our ideas would never be approved by the ARC because we wanted to replace all of our grass with attractive (and expensive) draught tolerant plants. The last two places we lived (Lincoln, CA and Melbourne, FL) both used reclaimed water for irrigation, and both charged only $5/month for unlimited use, so this was a really big surprise to us. Are we unique with such a high water bill? Or are we just whining about an expense that all TV residents have to just live with? I B Papa

Do follow all of the previously mentioned suggestions. However keep in mind that our water district is allowed to establish a three tier pricing scheme for both potable and recycled water. This is not the case in other section of Florida. You will never succeed in have this scheme eliminated due to Sumter One among other reasons

[golfnut]

bimmer, when is the dry portion of the summer, can't wait til it gets here. as for my charge irrigation water it has been $0 for the last two months with all the rain we've had over the last 2 months I took the advice of someone from the county on the radio 2 months ago and set the timer on manual and haven't turned it back on since...gn

[brightlife60]

That's insane. Way too high. Mine was slightly higher than that when my sprinkling system was messed up.

[gump1]

We received a letter about a month after we had left after just closing on our house saying we were using too much inside water. I then got a call from the utilities dept. saying they knew we weren't there and sent someone out to check on it and the meter was running even though there was nobody in the house so they shut the water down. I called the warranty dept. and they sent a plumber and there was a leak in the line.
Now I have received another letter saying the irrigation water useage is too high. I checked for Apr. and May and both months it was 3370 gal. and then June was 9730 and July was 11370. I asked our Homewatch service to look the next time they were there and they went over right away. They think based on the increased useage it must be a leak so I will be calling the warranty dept.