Like many here, my sewer rates are tied to water usage regardless of how you use the water. I worked for my local water utility for 20 years and I can tell you that what you pay for water, and the accompanying sewer charge, is far and above what it takes to treat the water/sewage and to maintain the systems. It is, for the most part, a tax. Anything over and above the cost to maintain the system goes into general revenue, if your water system is owned by the municipality like mine, or into company coffers. And, if you have annual rate increases, as we have where I live, don't forget about compounding. For example, if your utilty increases rates 9% a year over 6 years, as our utility has done in the recent past, it's not a 54% increase. With compounding it's actually closer to 68%. Add in a few smaller increases in subsequent years and they have doubled revenue in 10 years. And, most of that is pure profit.
Like many here, my sewer rates are tied to water usage regardless of how you use the water. I worked for my local water utility for 20 years and I can tell you that what you pay for water, and the accompanying sewer charge, is far and above what it takes to treat the water/sewage and to maintain the systems. It is, for the most part, a tax. Anything over and above the cost to maintain the system goes into general revenue, if your water system is owned by the municipality like mine, or into company coffers. And, if you have annual rate increases, as we have where I live, don't forget about compounding. For example, if your utilty increases rates 9% a year over 6 years, as our utility has done in the recent past, it's not a 54% increase. With compounding it's actually closer to 68%. Add in a few smaller increases in subsequent years and they have doubled revenue in 10 years. And, most of that is pure profit.