Madison Water Utility should reward conservation — Steve Holtzman | Letters to the Editor

The Madison Water Utility touts conservation of the vital resource it dispenses. It says it embraces the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense standards for conservation, building a Water Conservation House to demonstrate good practices for reducing consumption and using the hashtag #everydropcounts to build an ethic for the sustainable use of water. But their billing rates do not incentivize conservation — just the opposite.

My own water use ballooned for one month when a new water heater required extensive testing. A couple of months later, my bill showed that my consumption had decreased by nearly 40%. But my bill reduced by only around 15%. Over 1,200 gallons of reduced use only reduced my bill by $10.

I believe that conserving water is a good thing. I wish our water utility felt the same way. Sadly, the Madison Water Utility fails to reward water conservation.

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