Ways to Reduce your Water Bill
Conserve Water
Find and fix any leaks
Usually, the first culprit for high water bills comes from unseen leaks.
Check for obvious leaks like dripping faucets, running toilets, or a leaking water heater. Toilet leaks can be hard to find; shine a flashlight at the rim to see if there’s running water or put a dye tablet in the tank to see if color appears in the bowl.
Next, Check your meter reading before and after a period of no water usage. If the meter reading changes, you have a leak, and you may want to call the water department for help determining where it may be.
Install water-efficient showerheads and toilets
By replacing old, inefficient toilets and showerheads with WaterSense labeled models, the average family can reduce water used by 20 to 60 percent—that’s nearly 16,000 gallons of water savings for your home every year.
WaterSense toilets cost as low as $100, and showerheads are as low as 10 dollars, though the more popular ones are $50-60. By spending $150 now, you can save as much as $580 per year.
Dishwashers and Dishes
Modern dishwashers only use around 3 gallons of water per cycle, where handwashing dishes can use up to 27 gallons. By scraping your dishes instead of pre-rinsing and only running when full, you can conserve water.
If you don’t have a dishwasher, using a basin with soapy water instead of running the faucet, washing in batches, and doing a short rinse will conserve water.
Simple changes in habits
Over half of water usage inside the house takes place in the bathroom.
Turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth or shaving and taking shorter showers can make a big difference.
The average bath uses 35 to 50 gallons of water, whereas a 10-minute shower with a WaterSense showerhead only uses less than 20 gallons.
Collect rainwater for outdoor use
Lawn and garden watering make up nearly 40% of total household water use
during the summer. A rain barrel collects water and stores it so you can use free water water plants, wash your car, or to top a swimming pool.
A sinlge 55 gallon rain barrel connected to a downspout will save most homeowners about 1,300 gallons of water during the peak summer months.
CMAC will be running a rain barrel initiative this spring, or you can buy them at most hardware stores.
AquaHawk Alerts
AquaHawk is a free service that the city of Maumee offers its customers to help manage their water usage and lower their utility bills. Customers who sign up for AquaHawk will get notifications if their water consumption indicates that there might be a leak or other critical issue.
Set up online payments to make managing your water bill easier
As rates have increased and residents have received larger utility bills, we are encouraging residents to establish their own ‘recurring budget payments’.
They can schedule these recurring budget payments at any frequency or amount through Maumee’s online bill payment portal (or through their bank). Any payments made will be credited to their account and applied when a bill is generated or on any other outstanding balances.
Set up Through Your Bank:
- Log in to your bank’s online portal or mobile app
- Find the Bill Pay section
- Select the provider you want to pay
- Add the payee’s information, such as their name, account number, and billing address
- Set the payment amount and date
- Review your settings and confirm
Set up Through Maumee:
- Visit bsaonline.com
- Enter in address, name or utility account number in search box, press enter
- Click on your account
- On the right-hand side of the screen, you will see a pink box, click Pay Now, then click Make Payment
- Click I want to Register this Account
- Select the Recurring Schedule Payments tab and set up your payments