I live in Tauranga city, New Zealand (I love it here!).
Our council (The Tauranga City Council) charges us $1.50 per cubic metre for water.
Fair enough I spose. That’s about $100 every 6 months for our house of 2 adults, 2 kids.
A cubic metre is 1m x 1m x 1m of water. That’s 1000 litres. That’s 1000kg.
For every day use, how much does it really cost?
Here are 4 examples to put it in perspective.
1. How much does it cost to fill a 10 litre bucket to wash my car?
- A 10 litre bucket will cost me 1.5c to fill ($1.50/100)
- Rinsing would be about 5 times that so another 7.5c (5×1.5)
- 9c compared to a car wash for $10-$15? Pretty easy choice
2. How much does it cost to drink water?
- Drinking 1 litre will cost me 1.5c for 10 refills
- 1.5c for 10 bottles compared to $2.50 for a 750ml Pump Bottle? Pretty easy choice
3. How much does it cost to water the garden?
- Watering time = 30mins
- Flow rate: 1 litre = 10 seconds
- 30 mins = 1800 seconds (60×30)
- Use 180 litres in 30 mins (1800/10)
- Cost: 27c (1.50/1000*180)
- Conclusion: Watering the garden for 30mins will cost me 27c. This sucks because grow-yourself vege gardens are a waste of time.
4. How much does it cost to fill the kids paddling pool?
- INTEX Easy Set Pool 8ft capacity: 2,700 litres
- Cost: $4.05 (1.50/1000*2700)
- Conclusion: Filling the paddling pool will cost me $4.05. So I better buy some chlorine and use the pump because dumping $4 worth of slimey water every week is not cool
Do you pay for water in your city?
Say so in the comment below.