The average household US water bill varies widely from state to state and municipality to municipality.  Small town household water rates fall somewhere between $1.00 and $2.00 per 748 gallons of water or HCF (hundred cubic feet).  Large city household water rates are from $2.00 to $3.00 per 748 gallons of water.  (Nationally, water rates are rising across the board, as they have to!  So bear this in mind.)

Many large cities have tiered water rate structures, whereby customers pay much higher rates for the water they consume beyond a certain predetermined amount.

The average US resident uses around 150 gallons of water per day.  This number varies widely.  For example, in California:

Many water bills are billed on a bi-monthly basis.

Let’s look at a household of 4’s water consumption for one month or over a billing cycle:

  • Average daily water consumption: 600 gallons of water
  • Average monthly water consumption: 18,000 gallons of water
  • How many HCF is this? -> 18,000 divided by 748 = 24
  • Average cost per HCF? -> $1.50
  • Average monthly water bill? -> $1.50 x 24 = 36
  • Average bi-monthly water bill? -> $72

(Bear in mind that this number is for the small municipality only)

* We of course need to add to this number the sewage rate/cost plus any additional fees.  To be safe, let’s just call it an $15 per month.

  • New average US household water bill? -> $51

Now, let’s acknowledge that this is only a number to which there’s no need to hold fast to.  It merely gives us an idea of the expensiveness of water, and just how quickly a water bill can go through the roof due to a running or leaking toilet, say, a phenomenon to which 90% of all high water bills are due.

Actually, I’d like to repeat this stunning fact:

On top of this, let’s take it a step further:

  • 10% of all water in-building residential consumption is due to running or leaking toilets!

So, if you have a leaky flapper or a tenant who doesn’t mind when the toilet is running or you’re out of town for a week and your toilet is running, it’s easy to see how that $51.00 water bill can quickly go to $100.00 or more, in the blink of an eye.

If you are interested in How You Can Increase Your Cash Flows by $2,500.00 Every Year and Never Pay for High Water Bills Due to Your Tenants’ Running Toilets, sign up for our Free Report here.

Abendigo Reebs is the VP of Business Development for LeakBird Industries LLC in San Francisco, CA. He may be reached by email at ben@leakbird

Bookmark Me!
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • Furl
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis

Related posts:

  1. High Water Bill? Know Your Typical Average Monthly Water Bill & Study Your Toilet (LeakBird) If you recently received a high water bill, there’s a...
  2. Shocking Water Consumption & Running Toilet Leakage Facts: The Average Toilet in San Francisco Wastes $6.83 Per Month or $81.96 Per Year due to Running or Leaking!!! (LeakBird) In order to calculate how much your toilet wastes in...
  3. San Francisco Water Rates, Running Toilets and Property Management: Summary of My June 2008 Chat with The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) (LeakBird) I’ve written about how to calculate your San Francisco water...
  4. Shock: 10%+ of All Residential, In-Building Water Consumption due to Running or Leaking Toilets!!! (LeakBird) Okay, so this number may shock you, but trust me,...
  5. Landlords, Do Your Tenants’ Toilets Keep Constantly Running, Causing You Exorbitantly High Water Bills? (LeakBird) Do your tenants’ toilets keep constantly running? Do you receive...