Last month, posting about Extreme Water Conservation, I detailed why I save water during the winter billing period for the City's Water Bureau, and what I did to achieve my goal of minimal water usage [many sponge baths . . .]. Results are in.
![[waterbill ]](waterbill.gif)
For the 91 days from December 6, 2017 [the date of our last meter reading] until March 7, 2018, my water meter readings advanced from 1413.81 to 1418.16. These readings express CCFs [units of one hundred cubic feet or roughly 748 gallons of water]. So 4.35 CCFs consumed represent 3,254 gallons over 91 days. I personally made these readings, but, of course, what matters is what the City meter reader writes down.
Because my last water bill [for the fall quarter] had an end-reading of 1413, I know the meter reader only counts whole CCFs. Thus, although my winter quarter started near 1414 CCFs, the number was not rounded up. In effect, I carried an 0.81 CCF handicap--almost a full 1 CCF--into the spring quarter!
So I wasn't surprised when my water bill arrived and our usage came out to be 5 CCF, when the true usage was less: 4.35 CCF. Readings beyond the decimal point are dropped. Only integer CCFs matter.
As mentioned in earlier posts, the bulk of my water bill, nearly 80%, is not water consumed. Much is fixed charges [stormwater disposal, Portland Harbor Superfund, and account base charges], but sewer disposal is a multiple [currently 2.26X] of the winter quarter water usage, and the customer gets billed the same sewer charge for the whole year. This is a strong financial incentive for extreme water conservation in the winter quarter. I estimate I've reduced my water bills in aggregate for the coming year by about $200.
The implications of extreme water conservation, however, extend far beyond saving on personal utility bills. Learning water conservation seems a critical skill for what, in years to come, is forecast to be increasing water shortages. Right now, Cape Town, South Africa, might be an anomaly--a metropolis of several million facing a Zero Day of water distribution under martial law later in the year. But other urban areas could follow.
Capetonians are presently limited to 50 liters of water per person per day, or 13 gallons. For a comparison, our household of two consumed 3,254 gallons over 91 days, or about 18 gallons daily. We're in striking distance of the Capetonian mandate.
I'm ready, but will others around the globe be ready to join Capetonians in "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down”?
Image credits: author photocopy
Read Charlie Dickinson's story collection [and feel free to share with a friend] The Cat at Light's End, as an ebook in these downloadable formats:
.mobi (Kindle)
.epub (most other readers)
.pdf (for PCs)
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