1. The Cost of Water
A. According to my last water bill, the city of Phoenix charges $2.69/unit (748 gallons) as of Oct. 1. Personally, I feel this is a very low cost, especially when you consider it includes “delivery.”

Like many households, I use more water than I should, for a variety of reasons. So, what is adequate as far as cost per gallon?

I think whether the cost is adequate is a question for the provider: Does it cover their costs for collection, processing, operations, maintenance and infrastructure?

As the consumer, I am sensitive to whether the cost is fair or a good value. So far, I believe it is a good value to me, however, I don’t believe the cost is high enough to motivate conservation.

For example, I had a discussion with a co-worker once about water consumption. She informed me that the 3 people in her household use a clean towel every time they take a shower. I was appalled at the idea of washing that many towels. Assuming she’s washing 21 towels per week as a part of her regular laundry, that adds up to a lot of water consumption. By comparison, there are only 2 people in my household and we use one towel each for a week.

However, at my household, water is wasted by having to run cold water out of the taps until hot water from the heater located in the garage reaches them. Also, I have a water leak in my pool skimmer due to shoddy work during its remodel. I called the plumbers back to repair it before the deck and lawn were completed, but have since discovered the skimmer drain still leaks. They refused to come back and the lawn and deck are now in place. Repairing the leak would require chopping out the concrete of the deck, the skimmer and the concrete under it, replacing a section of pipe, tearing up the lawn and other underground pool plumbing to gain access. How much would water have to cost to make it necessary to repair