How much water you use during winter unproportionally affects your water bill

If you wonder why your water bill stubbornly stays on the high side even though you think you are conserving water, this might help explain...at least for those of you who live in Plano.

My latest water/utility bill shows only a quarter is charged for water usage. (This, of course, means reducing water consumption would help little to lower my water bill. Not a good system to encourage people to conserve water, but that's a different discussion.)

More than half of the bill is for sewer. For anyone who wants to reduce his water bill, now is the time to act. Why? Because Plano uses "Water Quarter Average" to calculate your sewer rate and apply that for the entire year. Details are here and here. Basically, how much water you use during last three winters, including current, will determine how much sewer rate you pay for the coming year.

My sewer rate is high because I enjoy taking a hot bath in the cold winter night. That Japanese habit is not something I want to give up easily...I need to figure out other ways to use water less.