Use Your Water Bill to Save Water & Money

Each month a conservation tool arrives at your home, your water bill. Each month your water bill shows how much water you used for that billing period-your consumption. The largest portion of your water and sewer bill is based on your water consumption. Understanding the most common causes of increased use can help you control your water consumption .

Common Causes of Increased Water Use:

• House guests (more showers, more laundry, etc.)
• Leaks (especially toilets and dripping faucets)
• Simple mistakes (failing to turn off an outside faucet)
• Time of year (washing love bugs or pollen of the car)

Tracking Consumption

By tracking your consumption each month, not only will it help you to catch a small leak before it becomes a big one, but you will be able determine how your family’s water habits affect your consumption rate. You will be able to see that when your family members modify some of their activities (like reducing the amount of time in the shower) it can have a very positive effect on reducing how much water you use. 

Water Meters

Water meters are read in thousands of gallons and are read down (see Usage and Billing under Utility Bill Basics). Although your bill may show consumption of 1,000 gallons, in actuality, you could have used from 1,000 to 1,999 gallons of water during the month. So, sometimes you may not see a dramatic reduction in your consumption when you decrease water use, but over time you should see a decrease in consumption peaks.

Save Money

An added incentive to saving water is saving money. You save money on both water consumption and sewer consumption when you reduce your water use. The amount of sewage your home generates is not metered; it is determined based upon how much water you use.

Cost Savings

The greatest cost savings occur when you are able to keep your water consumption to 5,000 gallons or less per month because this is the lowest cost tier. Titusville’s water rates are set up in an increasing block tiered rate structure, which means the cost per thousand gallons increases as your consumption increases. There are four blocks or tiers for single-family residential customers. The lowest cost tier for every 1,000 gallons of water used is from 0 to 5,000 gallons.

Consumption Rate Tiers

• 0 to 5,000 gallons
• 5,001 to 10,000 gallons
• 10,001 to 15,000 gallons
• Over 15,000 gallons

The majority of Titusville’s single-family residential customer’s water use falls within the first tier.