Owning a home is a wonderful, magical thing, and being a homeowner in Toronto is exceptionally wonderful. Living in a large city, you’re automatically integrated into the community and become part of a larger, greater entity. It’s powerful but it can be profoundly confusing. If you’re not familiar with the Provincial and City bylaws, owning a home can turn into a nightmare. Read on to gain a better understanding of how Toronto charges for your water installation and usage.
How Toronto Water Charges Work
How exactly does the City of Toronto charge for water? How does it break down and make sense for you as a homeowner or renter?
On average, a household of four people will use the equivalent of five bathtubs of water a day. Keeping that in mind, take a look at how your water bill is split between water and sewer charges. The sewer portion of the utility bill represents the complete cost of waste-water treatment, infrastructure, and maintenance of the sewer system. The city provides the breakdown of water and sewer charges as additional information for its customers.
How Often Will You See a Bill?
There are two types of billing systems for water in Toronto. For those who use more than 1.25 million gallons of water a year, the meters are read and they are billed on a monthly basis. For those who used less than 1.25 million gallons, you will be billed on a tri-annual basis (every four months).
Sudden Changes in Your Bill
If your water bill has always been roughly the same cost, but you notice an unexpected rise in the cost, there could be a number of reasons:
- Leaks in your toilet or plumbing fixtures.
- Consecutive estimated readings followed by an actual reading or in other words, the water you used was estimated and your consumption for previous billing periods was higher than estimated.
- An increase in the number of people living in the house.
- Dry, hot summers often result in more water consumption.
- An increase in the number of days in your billing period.
Making sure that you stay on top of your plumbing maintenance is absolutely essential, not just for the environment but also for your budget. A leaky tap or running toilet can result in a high increase in your water bill!
Benefits of Maintaining Your Water Installation
There are several reasons to make sure you stay on top of your water systems:
Water Quality
You can see a surprising change in the quality of water if your plumbing system is old, outdated or rusted. One of the biggest causes of poor water quality is the buildup of mineral inside your hot water heater or plumbing supply pipes. Flushing out your water heater regularly is a good idea for maintaining good water quality. Talk to a plumber to get it done yearly.
Plumbing System Longevity
It can be expensive getting plumbing repairs done, we all know this. It’s time-consuming and frustrating but the truth is that it’s a lot better than constantly having higher bills or the problems that can come with poorly kept pipes. Keeping your pipes healthy will help reduce the wear and tear on your plumbing which leads to harder more complex repairs.
Comfort and Convenience
When it comes down to it, keeping a healthy water installation system in your home makes for a comfortable lifestyle. We often take for granted the fact that we have effective residential plumbing in our homes until something happens. When that time comes it’s often expensive, inconvenient, time-consuming and messy to resolve the issues. Instead of waiting for problems to occur, have your Toronto plumber come in regularly and take proper care of your water installation.
You may not like having to pay the water charges levied by the City, but at least you can make sure you know what you’re paying for.
