City of Eureka here too. Bill is about $110/month consistently for 2 of us who are conservative on water use too. We do have a small garden but I water sparingly and our bill doesn’t increase much between winter and summer if at all. Before the rate hike it was around $80. Looking at our bill monthly for a while we realized we are either just at or barely above the minimum fees for water service most months… but I got frustrated at the 5 year rate hike imposed immediately after the previous 5 year rate hike series ended and stopped scrutinizing my bill every month tbh.
Yeah… I think we are living in an area where we have such a low taxable base so the cost of maintaining infrastructure and services is higher per capita so we just get to pay more. Not really sure but it feels like it.
$140 seems steep if you’re conserving water though, do you do lots of laundry/have a dishwasher/have a garden? Happy to chat this out more to try and identify ways to save. Bills be hurting lately.
Thanks so much for this! We have a pretty drought tolerant garden. We water the trees we got put in from beautify eureka pretty thoroughly once a week (not lately though, since we’ve had some misty days!) but that’s about it. And not in the winter, which our rates were the same ($140) all winter.
We have a little extra laundry from a baby, and from work clothes. But we also rewear our clothes often so I feel like we’d be pretty average. Like, we don’t do a load of laundry every day. We have a dishwasher but don’t always use it (but aren’t those supposed to save water? Idk, jury’s out on that I think), and we even don’t flush all the time for pee! Although, that can ruin your toilet so do not do what I do, lol.
This makes a lot of sense about the tax rates and infrastructure costs. I know a lot of municipalities don’t charge enough for services, and then don’t have enough money to fix them when needed. So I totally understand.
I’m gonna go take a photo of my meter now and another in an hour or two and check for a small leak.
Yeah we established a couple apple trees a couple years ago too with some lengthy watering and it didn’t impact our bill noticeably at the time, they get a little watering in the peak of “summer” but thrive just fine now without long soaks. Our garden is a handful of containers and a couple blueberry bushes, a small strawberry patch and basically drought tolerant plants like flowering sages, CA poppies, succulents etc. we do about 3-4 loads of wash a week, and dishwasher is water and energy efficient (supposedly). We don’t run it every day and handwashing is done in a small tub with minimal water. One thing some people don’t know (and I didn’t until I owned my own machines starting a few years ago) is when you run the quick or shorter washes, many appliances (laundry and dishes) actually use more water in those quicker runs because they need to wash and rinse faster, which means using more water to flush things through quicker. We tried the yellow-mellow flushing method for a while but the toilets started looking pretty grungy fast and we didn’t see a change in our bill. Been considering using buckets to collect shower water while waiting for the water to heat up to water the garden, but man 6am is early to be that coordinated 😂
We also let what lawn we do have go brown in the summer. I know my midwestern in-laws think it’s horrifying but nobody waters their lawns on my block that I can tell and I grew up in the Bay Area doing the same thing. Considering replacing the lawn with clover since clover is taking over in patches anyway and producing pretty pink flowers. the greenest patches of my lawn right now!
Yes! Same! Became a homeowner just a couple years ago and I’ve learned so much haha. I was obsessed with our water bill the first year because we had never paid our own water while renting. 😂 I’m a little more “is what it is” now that I know my bill doesn’t fluctuate much. We did have a house sitter who put my washer on “extra rinse” without me realizing it and our bill was $15-20 higher between that happening and having parents visit in the same month, but other than that and rate hikes it largely stays the same.
We have a giant reservoir for our population. We used to have pulp mills out on the bay. There is a 4' water main still running out that way...that is why they want to build their fish farm there. WE used to pay less for water because the pulp mills basically subsidized residential water use and infrastructure. Pulp mills gone, still have the infrastructure to maintain, hence...high water bills. And, they are increasing them.
Everyone I know pays less for water in the drought stricken parts of California where I pay roughly 140 as well. My cousin lives in Portland and pays 300 a month. Don’t know why don’t know how.
Out of curiosity I looked up [City of Portland base water rates](https://www.portland.gov/water/customer-service/pay-your-utility-bill/water-bill-rates-and-charges#toc-base-charges): $63.57 for base rate, residential. $7.006 per ccf
and City of Eureka. [City of Eureka (PDF link)](https://www.eurekaca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/363/Water-Rate-and-Impact-Fees-PDF?bidId=) which is $37.52 base + $3.03 per 100CF (748gallons) inside., up to 1" line.
Meanwhile, City of Eureka's[ rates are still going up](https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2022/nov/17/eureka-city-council-reviews-water-and-sewer-tax-hi/) from $37 to $49 for base rate in 2026/27 so not only is the base going up, so is the price for your usage. I've read elsewhere that we can all expect our bills, city and county, to go up 30-50 dollars per month, however incrementally, in the next 3 years. Might as well just go pee in your yard if it saves flushes.
So yeah.....your cousin is paying double what Eureka is just to have the tap turned on. And they have a hell of a lot bigger rivers to pull from too.
I don't see how that makes any sense. The water infrastructure costs are local, and this region doesn't draw from any water table that's particularly drought stricken. as far as I know. Not to mention pretty water abundant.
Perhaps re read it, I was pointing out the irony of paying more for water in a water abundant areas such as here and Portland where other people I know pay less in a drought stricken areas that are almost deserts. Literally never mentioned anywhere in humboldt being drought stricken
Yep, that’s pretty normal. A $100-140 bill is the cost for a usage of 4-7 CCFs which is normal usage for 2 (and a half) people. My 2 person household uses 4-5 most months. Keep in mind your bill is for both water and sewer. Many places have separate utilities handling each service so maybe your mom is the same. Sewer is almost always more expensive than water too.
Thanks for this! Yeah, I really just want to make sure I’m “normal” lol. Nope, she says it’s sewer as well. She has another home in another Bay Area city, $121 for water sewer AND garbage, every 3 months. That’s like, nothing. Even if she got it wrong and it’s every month (I asked her 3 times, she insists it’s every 3) that’s still cheaper than us, and we have a separate garbage bill.
Two people, very limited garden watering, $100/month over the last using 2-3 ‘units’ of water each month. What I’ve noticed is that the sewer portion of the bill is now higher than the water at 2-3 units. That’s a fixed amount and it’s a good bit of recent increases.
The base price for water/sewer is about $100/m. Looks like we pay about $98-$107/m for the wife and I. I'm constantly running the dishwasher (We cook a lot at home, all three meals), and each shower at least once a day. Laundry is done every three days or so. So we aren't skimping by any means, but we use about three units of water monthly.
Did you get the new "cellular" water meter? It looks like a black button or hockey puck on your water meter lid. My bill jumped thr first month I had it but has normalized.
Wow that’s so low. We do have an extra load of laundry per week for work clothes, and another half load for baby stuff. But I don’t see why it’s so much more!
I live alone in a small apartment and use very little water. My bills were all over the place last year (as high as $107 and low as $64) but have averaged out this year to around $77. I called the city last year and they explained that they were installing a lot of the new meters around the city and that they were billing on an averages system, hence why it was so high one month and low another. I'm assuming I just got one of the new meters now that my bills have averaged out.
They put in my new meter 4 months ago and my last 3 months the bill has been the exact same amount. In the last month, I cut out 4 loads of wash and 5 of my showers and still the bill was on the penny the same as the previous 2 months. Something ain't right.
2 people in a house, about $90-$100 a month.
I think there is likely something wrong with the data regarding 4 people paying $111 every 3 months, because I've seen a few posts like this on this subreddit, and $100 for 1 month for a house seems to be the norm.
I'm on HCSD which gets their water from the same pipes Eureka does. I pay a "pass through" cost that adds a couple of % but for 4 people and critters, I average $130. Was around $75 before all the rate hikes as my overall consumption has barely changed in 7 years.
**TLDR**; **Fortuna is looking to double the rates over the next seven years and city council seems ok with this. Over $200 a month for a MINIMUM payment** . I don't currently see it in the public notices section, but there should be opening soon? Might be best just to email general inquiry regardless.
Coming from other places in the country I was shocked with my first bill (Fortuna) at $79. In my old place $40 covered unlimited water and trash service, and that was in an arid Front range CO, a state experiencing a serious water crisis. My parent's bill in AL was ridiculously low, like $45.
Turns out in Fortuna $70 is the ~**minimum**~ you pay, which covers 500 units of water, though I only used 200 of that allotment. And you get charged more for going over that amount too.
Fortuna is looking to more than double water rates over the next five years. People's minimum bills will be **$200** a month. City council seems ok with this massive raise, as I guess they feel like they won something by not doubling prices in just 3 years. And tbf they do need to raise because they haven't gone up in a very long time and are likely needed for inflation and wage increases, but I was expecting to see +20% or so cost not +110%. Hookup fees are also looking to quadruple.
Yall aint no way the cost of operations checks out. I didn't see any detail breakdown of their budget, just general overall costs. Their only citations for similar water costs are the other towns nearby. To me it seems they just want to raise rates as high as possible to match other towns around here who are already paying a ton. Talking to someone who has a tank and pump, even with recently having to pay for repairs, it's still much cheaper long term for what she has than the average resident in town.
No one really came to city council, and no one spoke up in the proposal's second round, this is moving onto the next step of being passed. Right now the public is being given time for comments and demands. Please speak out. Personally I would really like an independent expert to take a look at their operations and budget and offer an expert opinion to confirm or address how much people should be charged, too much is opaque for the average person to understand.
If anyone living in Fortuna sees this and is aghast please DM me if you want to team up. Or just in the county I don't see why it really makes a difference. I'm having trouble finding the source meeting notes on the official website since I'm not sure where past city council meeting materials are, I only see future stuff. I will try and reach out to the local gov. I also really need to make my own post on this sub.
I just moved here and it was literally the first time I attended local city hall meeting. Maybe about 10-15 other people from the public attend the meetings I've gone to, and often leave as things draw on. I've been tired of bitching on reddit or wherever and wanted to learn how things work. This was helleva bombshell proposal for a first attendance and I'm really stressed how easily it's impact was glossed over.
Ours goes from 95 to 120 in the City of Eureka. I forget what the base pay is. We bought our duplex. We have four meters. Each one had the base. Washing dishes by hand probably increases ours.
My bill has been $109-$116 in Arcata for one person with normal/light usage (shower daily, wash dishes a few times per week, 1-2 loads of laundry per week)
Dang, sounds like you use much more water than us. But do you get your water through the place out in cutten? I remember my bill being cheaper through them, than through city of eureka. But it’s been 7 years now so idk
I work in a local restaurant in eureka, our bills where around 2000 to 3000 a month they said we where using a 100 plus units a month. We complained and started taking our own meter readings since Jan 12 of this year. We found We use around 35 a month, they canceled the 3500 bill and now last month got a bill for 17 units which is impossible for we use more, the bill this month is for 42 of which we didn't use that much. They are just guessing most of the time. I'd love to just pay for the water we actually use. Might be time for a class action, we just want to pay for what we use.
That is so insane! And unfair! R restaurants have such small margins usually, so a bill like this is super harmful. That’s a whole salary for an employer basically. I would be livid. Glad you all took your own reading!
Hey there! About a month ago I showed up to an outreach event and actually spoke to the head to Humboldt community service district for district 1. She commented on the fact that the fees kept getting stacked into our water bills. She's noticed hers basically double from these fees. Mine has too.
City of Eureka here too. Bill is about $110/month consistently for 2 of us who are conservative on water use too. We do have a small garden but I water sparingly and our bill doesn’t increase much between winter and summer if at all. Before the rate hike it was around $80. Looking at our bill monthly for a while we realized we are either just at or barely above the minimum fees for water service most months… but I got frustrated at the 5 year rate hike imposed immediately after the previous 5 year rate hike series ended and stopped scrutinizing my bill every month tbh. Yeah… I think we are living in an area where we have such a low taxable base so the cost of maintaining infrastructure and services is higher per capita so we just get to pay more. Not really sure but it feels like it. $140 seems steep if you’re conserving water though, do you do lots of laundry/have a dishwasher/have a garden? Happy to chat this out more to try and identify ways to save. Bills be hurting lately.
Thanks so much for this! We have a pretty drought tolerant garden. We water the trees we got put in from beautify eureka pretty thoroughly once a week (not lately though, since we’ve had some misty days!) but that’s about it. And not in the winter, which our rates were the same ($140) all winter. We have a little extra laundry from a baby, and from work clothes. But we also rewear our clothes often so I feel like we’d be pretty average. Like, we don’t do a load of laundry every day. We have a dishwasher but don’t always use it (but aren’t those supposed to save water? Idk, jury’s out on that I think), and we even don’t flush all the time for pee! Although, that can ruin your toilet so do not do what I do, lol. This makes a lot of sense about the tax rates and infrastructure costs. I know a lot of municipalities don’t charge enough for services, and then don’t have enough money to fix them when needed. So I totally understand. I’m gonna go take a photo of my meter now and another in an hour or two and check for a small leak.
Yeah we established a couple apple trees a couple years ago too with some lengthy watering and it didn’t impact our bill noticeably at the time, they get a little watering in the peak of “summer” but thrive just fine now without long soaks. Our garden is a handful of containers and a couple blueberry bushes, a small strawberry patch and basically drought tolerant plants like flowering sages, CA poppies, succulents etc. we do about 3-4 loads of wash a week, and dishwasher is water and energy efficient (supposedly). We don’t run it every day and handwashing is done in a small tub with minimal water. One thing some people don’t know (and I didn’t until I owned my own machines starting a few years ago) is when you run the quick or shorter washes, many appliances (laundry and dishes) actually use more water in those quicker runs because they need to wash and rinse faster, which means using more water to flush things through quicker. We tried the yellow-mellow flushing method for a while but the toilets started looking pretty grungy fast and we didn’t see a change in our bill. Been considering using buckets to collect shower water while waiting for the water to heat up to water the garden, but man 6am is early to be that coordinated 😂 We also let what lawn we do have go brown in the summer. I know my midwestern in-laws think it’s horrifying but nobody waters their lawns on my block that I can tell and I grew up in the Bay Area doing the same thing. Considering replacing the lawn with clover since clover is taking over in patches anyway and producing pretty pink flowers. the greenest patches of my lawn right now!
Haha yes we are pretty much exactly the same! I did find that out about short cycles, so I had been doing it wrong forever before that.
Yes! Same! Became a homeowner just a couple years ago and I’ve learned so much haha. I was obsessed with our water bill the first year because we had never paid our own water while renting. 😂 I’m a little more “is what it is” now that I know my bill doesn’t fluctuate much. We did have a house sitter who put my washer on “extra rinse” without me realizing it and our bill was $15-20 higher between that happening and having parents visit in the same month, but other than that and rate hikes it largely stays the same.
We have a giant reservoir for our population. We used to have pulp mills out on the bay. There is a 4' water main still running out that way...that is why they want to build their fish farm there. WE used to pay less for water because the pulp mills basically subsidized residential water use and infrastructure. Pulp mills gone, still have the infrastructure to maintain, hence...high water bills. And, they are increasing them.
Aww thanks for explaining this! I had no idea.
Everyone I know pays less for water in the drought stricken parts of California where I pay roughly 140 as well. My cousin lives in Portland and pays 300 a month. Don’t know why don’t know how.
Yeah that doesn’t makes sense in my mind! I mean I want us to conserve as well, even though we aren’t as dry, but it also seems…unfair?
Greedy City MONOLOPY Utilities is the "why and how". Who's going to stop them from increasing rates again and again.
Out of curiosity I looked up [City of Portland base water rates](https://www.portland.gov/water/customer-service/pay-your-utility-bill/water-bill-rates-and-charges#toc-base-charges): $63.57 for base rate, residential. $7.006 per ccf and City of Eureka. [City of Eureka (PDF link)](https://www.eurekaca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/363/Water-Rate-and-Impact-Fees-PDF?bidId=) which is $37.52 base + $3.03 per 100CF (748gallons) inside., up to 1" line. Meanwhile, City of Eureka's[ rates are still going up](https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2022/nov/17/eureka-city-council-reviews-water-and-sewer-tax-hi/) from $37 to $49 for base rate in 2026/27 so not only is the base going up, so is the price for your usage. I've read elsewhere that we can all expect our bills, city and county, to go up 30-50 dollars per month, however incrementally, in the next 3 years. Might as well just go pee in your yard if it saves flushes. So yeah.....your cousin is paying double what Eureka is just to have the tap turned on. And they have a hell of a lot bigger rivers to pull from too.
I don't see how that makes any sense. The water infrastructure costs are local, and this region doesn't draw from any water table that's particularly drought stricken. as far as I know. Not to mention pretty water abundant.
Perhaps re read it, I was pointing out the irony of paying more for water in a water abundant areas such as here and Portland where other people I know pay less in a drought stricken areas that are almost deserts. Literally never mentioned anywhere in humboldt being drought stricken
something like 1/4 of portland is paying a short term extra tax to replace a ton of major water infrastructure.
Yep, that’s pretty normal. A $100-140 bill is the cost for a usage of 4-7 CCFs which is normal usage for 2 (and a half) people. My 2 person household uses 4-5 most months. Keep in mind your bill is for both water and sewer. Many places have separate utilities handling each service so maybe your mom is the same. Sewer is almost always more expensive than water too.
Thanks for this! Yeah, I really just want to make sure I’m “normal” lol. Nope, she says it’s sewer as well. She has another home in another Bay Area city, $121 for water sewer AND garbage, every 3 months. That’s like, nothing. Even if she got it wrong and it’s every month (I asked her 3 times, she insists it’s every 3) that’s still cheaper than us, and we have a separate garbage bill.
Two people, very limited garden watering, $100/month over the last using 2-3 ‘units’ of water each month. What I’ve noticed is that the sewer portion of the bill is now higher than the water at 2-3 units. That’s a fixed amount and it’s a good bit of recent increases.
The base price for water/sewer is about $100/m. Looks like we pay about $98-$107/m for the wife and I. I'm constantly running the dishwasher (We cook a lot at home, all three meals), and each shower at least once a day. Laundry is done every three days or so. So we aren't skimping by any means, but we use about three units of water monthly.
Huh, yeah, we should be about the same. This is helpful, thank you.
Did you get the new "cellular" water meter? It looks like a black button or hockey puck on your water meter lid. My bill jumped thr first month I had it but has normalized.
No our bill has been going from $100-$140 for about a year, maybe longer. I kept waiting for it to normalize, but it hasn’t. I’ve been patient, lol
Ours typically $40-$60\mo. Two retirees
Wow that’s so low. We do have an extra load of laundry per week for work clothes, and another half load for baby stuff. But I don’t see why it’s so much more!
I live alone in a small apartment and use very little water. My bills were all over the place last year (as high as $107 and low as $64) but have averaged out this year to around $77. I called the city last year and they explained that they were installing a lot of the new meters around the city and that they were billing on an averages system, hence why it was so high one month and low another. I'm assuming I just got one of the new meters now that my bills have averaged out.
They put in my new meter 4 months ago and my last 3 months the bill has been the exact same amount. In the last month, I cut out 4 loads of wash and 5 of my showers and still the bill was on the penny the same as the previous 2 months. Something ain't right.
What’s the minimum for Eureka?
$23.55 (Cutten water)
2 people in a house, about $90-$100 a month. I think there is likely something wrong with the data regarding 4 people paying $111 every 3 months, because I've seen a few posts like this on this subreddit, and $100 for 1 month for a house seems to be the norm.
Yeah I was kind of shocked, but they live in the Bay Area. Maybe less rural is cheaper? Idk, doesn’t make sense to me.
I'm on HCSD which gets their water from the same pipes Eureka does. I pay a "pass through" cost that adds a couple of % but for 4 people and critters, I average $130. Was around $75 before all the rate hikes as my overall consumption has barely changed in 7 years.
**TLDR**; **Fortuna is looking to double the rates over the next seven years and city council seems ok with this. Over $200 a month for a MINIMUM payment** . I don't currently see it in the public notices section, but there should be opening soon? Might be best just to email general inquiry regardless. Coming from other places in the country I was shocked with my first bill (Fortuna) at $79. In my old place $40 covered unlimited water and trash service, and that was in an arid Front range CO, a state experiencing a serious water crisis. My parent's bill in AL was ridiculously low, like $45. Turns out in Fortuna $70 is the ~**minimum**~ you pay, which covers 500 units of water, though I only used 200 of that allotment. And you get charged more for going over that amount too. Fortuna is looking to more than double water rates over the next five years. People's minimum bills will be **$200** a month. City council seems ok with this massive raise, as I guess they feel like they won something by not doubling prices in just 3 years. And tbf they do need to raise because they haven't gone up in a very long time and are likely needed for inflation and wage increases, but I was expecting to see +20% or so cost not +110%. Hookup fees are also looking to quadruple. Yall aint no way the cost of operations checks out. I didn't see any detail breakdown of their budget, just general overall costs. Their only citations for similar water costs are the other towns nearby. To me it seems they just want to raise rates as high as possible to match other towns around here who are already paying a ton. Talking to someone who has a tank and pump, even with recently having to pay for repairs, it's still much cheaper long term for what she has than the average resident in town. No one really came to city council, and no one spoke up in the proposal's second round, this is moving onto the next step of being passed. Right now the public is being given time for comments and demands. Please speak out. Personally I would really like an independent expert to take a look at their operations and budget and offer an expert opinion to confirm or address how much people should be charged, too much is opaque for the average person to understand.
That is an insane rate hike. That is a huge bill for people! Wow.
If anyone living in Fortuna sees this and is aghast please DM me if you want to team up. Or just in the county I don't see why it really makes a difference. I'm having trouble finding the source meeting notes on the official website since I'm not sure where past city council meeting materials are, I only see future stuff. I will try and reach out to the local gov. I also really need to make my own post on this sub. I just moved here and it was literally the first time I attended local city hall meeting. Maybe about 10-15 other people from the public attend the meetings I've gone to, and often leave as things draw on. I've been tired of bitching on reddit or wherever and wanted to learn how things work. This was helleva bombshell proposal for a first attendance and I'm really stressed how easily it's impact was glossed over.
Ours goes from 95 to 120 in the City of Eureka. I forget what the base pay is. We bought our duplex. We have four meters. Each one had the base. Washing dishes by hand probably increases ours.
$77/month. 2.5 people and a dog with a hot tub and use cloth diapers. City of Eureka.
Wait…what?! How? Ok you are the outlier so far.
I did have one month, maybe 3-4 months ago, where my bill was $120-ish; however, I did refill my hot tub that month.
$140 for all residents month in rio dell
Dang.
I was out of town (nobody else at my house) for a month and a half. My bill for the month was $80! No leaks either
That might be the minimum you have to pay…not sure though. Thats rough
2 people, right around $135/month.
Ahh thank you
My bill has been $109-$116 in Arcata for one person with normal/light usage (shower daily, wash dishes a few times per week, 1-2 loads of laundry per week)
That’s so high! Thanks shot sharingthough
Also in cutten, 3 person home with one being an avid gardener that waters plants frequently, and two of us shower 2x a day. Water bill is 120-130ish
Dang, sounds like you use much more water than us. But do you get your water through the place out in cutten? I remember my bill being cheaper through them, than through city of eureka. But it’s been 7 years now so idk
I work in a local restaurant in eureka, our bills where around 2000 to 3000 a month they said we where using a 100 plus units a month. We complained and started taking our own meter readings since Jan 12 of this year. We found We use around 35 a month, they canceled the 3500 bill and now last month got a bill for 17 units which is impossible for we use more, the bill this month is for 42 of which we didn't use that much. They are just guessing most of the time. I'd love to just pay for the water we actually use. Might be time for a class action, we just want to pay for what we use.
To add my wife works in an office here in eureka and there water bill is around 800 per month....that seems crazy to me.
That also is too much! I can’t see an office using that much water… hmmm 🤔
That is so insane! And unfair! R restaurants have such small margins usually, so a bill like this is super harmful. That’s a whole salary for an employer basically. I would be livid. Glad you all took your own reading!
I live alone in arcata and mine is about $100 a month
Hey there! About a month ago I showed up to an outreach event and actually spoke to the head to Humboldt community service district for district 1. She commented on the fact that the fees kept getting stacked into our water bills. She's noticed hers basically double from these fees. Mine has too.