By Gary

January 27, 2009 11:14 AM | Link to this

Just one more way, besides the water restrictions, that we the tax payers have to bail the State Govt asses out! We’re paying for their mess because of Inept planning by the state! This is TOTAL B******!

By MiltonBradley

January 27, 2009 11:27 AM | Link to this

I’m Happy! It’s just what the public deserves.Keep putting the same politicians,telling the same lies in office, this is exactly what you deserve.I hope it gets unbearable,maybe you’ll wake up, and stop believing in lies!

By Time for an overhaul

January 27, 2009 11:30 AM | Link to this

Gary I’m totally with you. We try to do the right thing and conserve and the Government penalizes us by jacking up the rates to put money in the government coffers.

I wrote Purdue the other day to tell him what I thought about his brillant plan to eliminate homestead exemption too.

No wonder our economy is in the mess it’s in!! We have the lunatics running the asylum!!

By Just stating the obvious

January 27, 2009 11:32 AM | Link to this

Inept government leaders at their finest. J.Q. Public seems to always get the screws…..

By steve brown

January 27, 2009 11:34 AM | Link to this

Just received a water bill in Roswell for twice the norm. Called Fulton county and requested they reread the meter. NO reason for this increase and I don’t believe the meter was ever read.

By ajani

January 27, 2009 11:38 AM | Link to this

When I told my friends last year I don’t conserve because they just raise the rates anyway they thought I was crazy… who’s crazy now.

By ajani

January 27, 2009 11:40 AM | Link to this

When I told my friends last year I don’t conserve because they just raise the rates anyway they thought I was crazy… who’s crazy now.

By ajani

January 27, 2009 11:41 AM | Link to this

When I told my friends last year I don’t conserve because they just raise the rates anyway they thought I was crazy… who’s crazy now.

By joeybagodoughnuts

January 27, 2009 11:42 AM | Link to this

Yep, sux!

By Alan

January 27, 2009 11:46 AM | Link to this

I have cut my water usage a great deal, and what do I get? Higher bills! I compared my useage to previous months and I thought that I was missing something as my useage was dropping but my bills were getting higher and higher. At first I thought I had a leak or something. The insanity needs to stop. I have never heard of such a thing as to penalize the citizens for conservation.

By fantastic

January 27, 2009 11:57 AM | Link to this

next time they slap a year long water ban, ill be sure to wash my cars daily. lets see if they dare come ticket me for it……

money grabbing thugs supported by sheeple

By Big a

January 27, 2009 12:00 PM | Link to this

This is a typical big government power play. Are we suprised?

By MP

January 27, 2009 12:18 PM | Link to this

I agree it is government at it’s finest (not).

BUT if I read the article correctly it sounds like we have all really been underpaying for years and only now being charged a rate that allows the system to come close to “breaking even”. Not sure there is a total connection between “using less” and “paying more”.

By MP

January 27, 2009 12:23 PM | Link to this

I agree it is government at it’s finest (not).

BUT if I read the article correctly it sounds like we have all really been underpaying for years and only now being charged a rate that allows the system to come close to “breaking even”. Not sure there is a total connection between “using less” and “paying more”.

By Russ

January 27, 2009 12:33 PM | Link to this

I think what the largest problem is water isn’t exactly a “cost-per-gallon” item. They’re saying it costs the same in overhead to read meters and the like whether you use 1000 gallons or 20,000 gallons.

Sounds to me the semi-appropriate solution is similar to the annoying things the gas company does — a “Customer Service Fee” which should encompass the meter reading fees (and businesses being charged more, since that’s the trend), then charge a significantly lower rate per 1000 gallons.

It should be fairly close to evening out for customers now, and when we’re asked to now shower but once a week because water is getting scarce, at least they shouldn’t be raising rates to recoup their fixed costs.

…but, then again, they’ll start raising and lowering the prices depending on how much rain we get, or just because… so that may not be a wise idea.

By Reality

January 27, 2009 12:36 PM | Link to this

We stopped conserving when these reports of use less/pay more began to come to light. Similarly, we don’t conserve gasoline, don’t recycle or any other green/tree/bunny-hugger activites. These are all “warm and fuzzy” feel good activities with no science-based impact. Similar mis-perceptions and mis-information exist with organic food, r-BST-free milk, raw milk, irradiated food, etc. May as well toss into the mix that global warming and climate change, as a result of “man” are also so much fluff…where’s the science?? Thought so!!!

By TB

January 27, 2009 12:42 PM | Link to this

Russ, I like your plan, but it makes too much sense. Therefore the government will have nothing to do with it!

By MessedUpAtl

January 27, 2009 12:51 PM | Link to this

Per one of the earlier comments, we the people derserve to suffer because of the poor quality of ‘leaders’ that we elect. I hate to make this a matter of race, but with the high concentration of blacks in the metro Atlanta area, combined with their high involvement in civic activities (goes back to post-civil rights era) and the apathy of many Caucasians when it comes to local elections, a lot of incompetent blacks get elected relatively easily to positions of power. We saw it, for eg, in DeKalb County, when Vernon Jones ran proceedings as if DeKalb was his own fiefdom. For the quality of leadership to improve, we need other races to be involved. I hope this is construed as an objective (albeit provocative) observation and not, as a racist or prejudiced one.

By time for an overhaul

January 27, 2009 12:52 PM | Link to this

Regardless of what they do with the rates, conserving is still the way to go. The Gov will never lower the rates so using less is all you can do to try to keep the bill down as much as you can.

Drought or not, we have limited resources (environmental and financial). I still use rain water for outside watering…it makes sense on many levels. Better for my budget and my plants.

To another poster’s point, we do pay less for many things like gas and water in this country than many other countries…I think those days are drawing to a close and we going to start having to pay the piper in a big way!

By GrannyCares

January 27, 2009 12:54 PM | Link to this

If you want to know the cause of the problem, LOOK IN THE MIRROR!!

We elect individuals — some who could not make it through college — to determine our health care policy for decades to come; develop energy plans for the nation when they do not know the difference between fossil fuels and corn oil; and some who are managing billion dollar budgets and declare personal bankruptcy!

We will swoon over Shirley Franklin’s smile during an election season, and think that she ‘dresses well’ and end up voting for her! Well, she dressed well at our expense!!

When we go to the polls the next time, we need to ask ourselves the question: WHO IS BEST PREPARED TO PLAN MY FUTURE, AND THAT OF MY GRANDKIDS? We really have some lightweights in office today ladies and gentlemen — AND WE PUT THEM THERE!!

By MrLiberty

January 27, 2009 1:10 PM | Link to this

Why do we get mad and demand action when it appears as though a company is holding a monopoly position in an industry, but we are more than content to allow GOVERNMENT to hold that same monopoly position? Everything that is being complained about is the DIRECT result of there being a monopoly in the water distribution business and because government controls that monopoly.

If there were REAL competition in the water delivery business (not like that so-called competition we see in natural gas service), you would see two important changes.

First, each competitor would be doing everything within their creative power to make sure there was always enough water. As I have noted before, the Alaska pipeline took less than 3 years to build over 900 miles with unprecidented engineering requirements. Our last major drought was 10 years ago and yet not a single effort short of conservation and rationing has been attempted (all while developers have been ecouraged to build, build, build). The heavy rains that fell just a few states away last year were said to have dropped enough water for Metro Atlanta for 47 years! Surely a private company would have gotten investors, loans, etc. to build a pipeline and numerous holding ponds, reservours, etc. by now. NOT GOVERNMENT. They STILL are suggesting nothing but rationing.

Only government, with its failed Socialist model would manage to run out of the ONLY product it has to sell. Can you honestly see a private company being that shortsighted?

Secondly, you would never see a company have the audacity to charge exhorbitant rates to make up for lost revenue? The marketplace has a solution for that kind of behavior - its called bankruptcy.

Government will never have to face that kind of pressure. They restrict private wells through zoning and land use regulations and only know how to ask for more money to reward their failure.

So long as you continue to think that government is the solution to problems, rather than the cause, you will be doomed to suffer these kinds of economic insults that a truly free competitive market would never be given the opportunity to inflict.

By Jozef

January 27, 2009 1:12 PM | Link to this

This has happened last year; that’s when I stopped conserving water. I figured that since the state wanted to punish me for conserving water I’d stop conserving. My water usage was up last year…

By MrLiberty

January 27, 2009 1:33 PM | Link to this

MP - Just what exactly IS an example of “government at its finest?”

Any serious evaluation of socialism (that is the principle under which all government programs operate) will clearly show that the underlying problem is the lack of cost, price, value, and other marketplace signals to help determine proper functioning of the operation.

Increased cost of a limited commodity is exactly the way to regulate use, but political pressure (remember the poor) made such a solution “unworkable” but it would have achieved the needed result without the kind of stupid odd-even, 1/2 hour between 2am and 3am kind of restrictions we see.

Government is not a business. It is a monopoly that operates through the force of gun or law. The problem cannot be solved though MORE of the same.

Doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different outcome every time is called INSANITY. Putting a new face on the same government monopoly is not CHANGE. It is just more of the same.

By KevinM

January 27, 2009 1:40 PM | Link to this

Simply put, if there is a way to get more $$ from less use, the county officials will figure it out. This conservation thing is an absolute copout.
Has anyone ever considered dropping the incomes of these forward thinking decision makers? This is where the real problem is….getting less and paying more at the top. And kudos to all the other counties who are all adjoining on this decision to rip every consumer off for conserving more resources.

By AReader

January 27, 2009 1:44 PM | Link to this

of course — same applies to the price of crude oil to the price at the pump. The sitaution is fabricated to a point that it is onmly rigged to maximize profits for the companies involved.

By ATL

January 27, 2009 1:53 PM | Link to this

the AJC really ought to stop stoking irrational discontent with water and sewer bills. Folks, the price of wihtdrawing, treating, and delivering your water combined with the collection, treatment and discharge of your wastewater costs the same no matter what you use. Utility revenue, on the other hand, rises and falls with how much you use. So, if you conserve (which we have to do thanks to the drought, and our sister states meddling in our affairs — AL and FL), then revenue goes down. To make up for that, rates have to go up. It’s that simple. The only place to lay blame is with Mother Nature and AL and FL. Oh, and the Corps.

By Carlos

January 27, 2009 2:05 PM | Link to this

Just like the oil industry, government acts like the water is theirs and they are the ones who put it here on earth for our use. Just because we are forced to conserve which is good, doesn’t mean the rates should go up. To me that should be against the law. I don’t why this country feels like when things get tough or tight that the best solution is to raise the rates/price on everything. Droughts have been around since the beginning of time and are a natural part of society. Gov’t from Federal down to local needs a major overhauling. In a time when people are losing their jobs and being laid off the last thing to do is raise the rates. First you look at cutting back in your own group and raising rates escpecially on resources that all of us use should be a very last resort. For the last several years gov’t has let development get out of control, cramming houses on top of houses and overcrowding areas that need no more development. What we as residents are going to have to do is get more vocal and start attending these meetings because as we can see they don’t have our best interest at heart. This is just one of the many lessons we can learn as the result of the economic conditions prevalent today.

By Carlos

January 27, 2009 2:08 PM | Link to this

Just like the oil industry, government acts like the water is theirs and they are the ones who put it here on earth for our use. Just because we are forced to conserve which is good, doesn’t mean the rates should go up. To me that should be against the law. I don’t why this country feels like when things get tough or tight that the best solution is to raise the rates/price on everything. Droughts have been around since the beginning of time and are a natural part of society. Gov’t from Federal down to local needs a major overhauling. In a time when people are losing their jobs and being laid off the last thing to do is raise the rates. First you look at cutting back in your own group and raising rates escpecially on resources that all of us use should be a very last resort. For the last several years gov’t has let development get out of control, cramming houses on top of houses and overcrowding areas that need no more development. What we as residents are going to have to do is get more vocal and start attending these meetings because as we can see they don’t have our best interest at heart. This is just one of the many lessons we can learn as the result of the economic conditions prevalent today.

By Carlos

January 27, 2009 2:12 PM | Link to this

Just like the oil industry, government acts like the water is theirs and they are the ones who put it here on earth for our use. Just because we are forced to conserve which is good, doesn’t mean the rates should go up. To me that should be against the law. I don’t why this country feels like when things get tough or tight that the best solution is to raise the rates/price on everything. Droughts have been around since the beginning of time and are a natural part of society. Gov’t from Federal down to local needs a major overhauling. In a time when people are losing their jobs and being laid off the last thing to do is raise the rates. First you look at cutting back in your own group and raising rates escpecially on resources that all of us use should be a very last resort. For the last several years gov’t has let development get out of control, cramming houses on top of houses and overcrowding areas that need no more development. What we as residents are going to have to do is get more vocal and start attending these meetings because as we can see they don’t have our best interest at heart. This is just one of the many lessons we can learn as the result of the economic conditions prevalent today.

By MrLiberty

January 27, 2009 2:49 PM | Link to this

ATL - spoken like a true government cheerleader.

As I pointed out above, the root cause of the problem is the monopoly delivery of water by government agencies. The fact that we are reliant upon Lanier and the Chatahoochee is just part of the short sighted performance you can expect from such a business relationship.

I don’t plan on solving the financing, engineering, land rights aquisition, etc. issues to prove my point. I don’t have to. There are plenty of existing and yet to exist companies that can take care of those issues as they do every day to address issues all over this world.

Even the cost issues you speak of are not fixed and certainly would be under market pressure to come down were their real competition for water delivery.

Just look at your list. Florida, Alabama, the Corps. See a trend here? Their reliance on their monopoly position is all part of the problem too. As for Mother Nature, she has given us plenty of warning and technology is already available to solve the problem.

When I lived in southern california (on the edge of the desert east of LA), my wife and I were shareholders in a water cooperative. We purchased a “share” of the water which was the right amount for our residential situation. Others purchased more shares if needed, but there were a finite number based on the availability of the resource. The cooperative owned about a dozen wells in the area. Prices per unit of water were based on real costs and availability of the water, and if more was needed, funding was obtained for an additional well, larger pump, etc. Not a perfect scenario, but not all that bad, and certainly more market based and reality based than our current system.

The AJC is not stoking “irrational discontent” over water and sewer bills. There is plenty of very RATIONAL discontent over them. There is no reason for this system of government monopoly to continue. It could transition into cooperative ownership or even to multi-company competition. The government likes the monopoly they enjoy and have no desire to give it up.

Until we demand that they do, good job AJC for pointing to the real issues. Now all that is left is for your editorial staff to support free-market based solutions.

By Gary

January 27, 2009 3:44 PM | Link to this

Sonny’s ass needs to be voted out of the Governors house next Election! All you voters remember that you can make a difference! Look what happened in November! He needs to GO come the next gubernatorial election!!

By h20

January 27, 2009 6:42 PM | Link to this

So some of y’all think the price is the same no matter the gallons withdrawn, oh well, bless your hearts. Less gallons used means less gallons treated means less needs to be pumped from the ground or from lanier or from the hooch. less pumping means less power usage and less chemicals to treat means less cost. so why should we pay more? The water departments should take a closer look and show us savings. The AJC should ask tougher questions.

By sab

January 27, 2009 8:15 PM | Link to this

As a black female, I agree w/ MessedUpAtl that too many incompetent blacks get voted into office. Vernon Jones, while competent, was still a poor CEO mainly due to his ego and poor personal qualities. However, incompetency knows no color as our outgoing President shows. Let’s speak out against bad government no matter what race, sex, or religion it is packaged in.

By sab

January 27, 2009 8:17 PM | Link to this

As a black female, I agree w/ MessedUpAtl that too many incompetent blacks get voted into office. Vernon Jones, while competent, was still a poor CEO mainly due to his ego and poor personal qualities. However, incompetency knows no color as our outgoing President shows. Let’s speak out against bad government no matter what race, sex, or religion it is packaged in.

By Fire them all and start over

January 27, 2009 8:50 PM | Link to this

How many times has the Atlanta water department been in the news lately? The Atlanta water department is a bloated jobs program infested by incompetent morons from the top down. It needs to be gutted and started over with competent people.

By davis

January 27, 2009 8:52 PM | Link to this

Everything is spinning out of control. I live in a condo downtown and teh monthly dues were once again assessed to cover higher water bills. No tax exemption, higher taxes, idiots running the city. Put your money under the mattress and relocate to Meexico, at least they don’t deny theie gov is corrupt!

By davis

January 27, 2009 8:53 PM | Link to this

Everything is spinning out of control. I live in a condo downtown and the monthly dues were once again assessed to cover higher water bills. No tax exemption, higher taxes, idiots running the city. Put your money under the mattress and relocate to Mexico, at least they don’t deny their gov is corrupt!

By jorja edge-u-macated

January 27, 2009 9:24 PM | Link to this

don’t blame the politicians…they come from the same gene pool as the people that elect them.

By rlm

January 27, 2009 9:25 PM | Link to this

Please remember this come next election. Casey Cagle remember is the anointed one by this group. Everyone loses their exemption except Perdue who got his own bill passed to avoid taxes in his land deal.Why are you voting for them. Former Republican

By rdhood

January 27, 2009 9:30 PM | Link to this

So when people start using more water, what do you bet that the water departments don’t lower rates?

By MIke

January 27, 2009 10:49 PM | Link to this

Too bad everyone in this country wouldn’t just stop paying their bills. It dosen’t pay to try and get ahead anymore. The more responsible you are the more you have to pay to carry everyone who has been iresponsible!

By John

January 27, 2009 11:03 PM | Link to this

That’s so true, Mike. Maybe, the goverment should reconize and reward the responsible individuals in this country. Perhaps, some of the stimulous money should be allocated to those who pay their bills, instead of giving the money to those who have created this problem.

By luvin S Franklin

January 27, 2009 11:13 PM | Link to this

Yeah how about that gas meter reader, My meter is enclosed by a 10’ fence, and I am the proud owner of a vicious doberman (yeah, intown, no police or 911 backup, neighborhood)so how do they read my meter? They guess like on all of our other utilities! Lovin Atlanta, the city too busy (mak’in money) to care.

By Geoff Bewley

January 27, 2009 11:37 PM | Link to this

Today i read an aticle on MSN.com web page about tipping, it struck me this person was compltely out of touch like many corporate executives have gotten all over the country, his statemet was basically that we should even tip the President of the United States because his job is hard and he makes “Squat” i take issue with this because here are the facts of the President of the United States yearly Salary and compensation first is the base salary of $400,000 plus a $100,000 tax free travel account, and add another $50,000 expense account, plus $19,000 a year for entertainment! This comes to $569.000 a year, that comes to $47,416.67 a month! and the President gets $191,000 a year retirement pension until 80 years old, to put it simply it is nothing close to “Squat” and don’t forget most Presidents make millions on the speaking tours they start after they are out of office. I would love to live on even 25% of this kind of”Squat” income! as i am sure many millions of other Americans would. A good many Corporate executives in this country are destroying the economy and way of life in our great country they have gotten so far out of touch with reality and it is i believe criminal to allow the crooks that have destroyed our economy and cost trillions of dollars in economic damage to the real estate market, the banking industry and the stock market,Where are the investigations that should be arresting an bringing the criminals that have brought on and caused this debacleto justice and deman confiscation of their vast fortunes, we have to make examples of these people so this economic carnage will stop some where and people will fear doing anything like it again. Like the idiots at Citi Bank who had just bought a Dassault Falcon 7X Corporate Jet for 50 million dollars after just getting 45 Billion dollars in bailout money from the Government/Taxpays money! These idiots did not even think to spend the money at maybe an Amrican company like Gulfstream it would still be stupid waste of money but at least the money would be spent in the United States and not in France!

By the way the Dassault 7X jet is the most expensive jet they make! i guess looking for a less expensive model did not enter their minds or to maybe fly an airline like the rest of us do.

I am now resting my fingers i have vented enough for now but i may get a second wind if given the motivation by more out of touch corporate idiots.

Geoff Bewley

By herbK

January 28, 2009 5:06 AM | Link to this

Time to get the trash in office out NOW, by whatever the means, the ballot, or by aggressive violence, whatever is necessary to take back what belongs to the people. Bewley nailed it correctly.

By mike

January 28, 2009 5:39 AM | Link to this

I think violence is the answer!

By gomez

January 28, 2009 6:16 AM | Link to this

I conserve water usage and so do others—and we knew what would happen next. Same thing when we conserve energy/electricity/natural gas usage. Government/private companies complain about not enough revenue and then hike up fees/rates. You’d think with everyone using less, they (big wigs) would not have to spend so much providing water, electricity, natural gas. But it never happens that way. You keep paying and paying.

By Frustrated

January 28, 2009 6:41 AM | Link to this

Once again, a water main was broken by city workers at Dunwoody Place and Roswell Road yesterday. Once again, we had no water for several hours. As the water was gushing down the streets, who do you think will pay for it? Probably my condo complex, which has had a broken, unread water meter for years now. The water department just keeps estimating it, and yes, the charges are astronomical. We can’t get anyone to do anything about it.

By JB

January 28, 2009 6:54 AM | Link to this

The truth is that Georgians enjoyed water for far below it’s true value for years. Now that there is less supply and more demand, economics dictate that the price go up to fair market value. For the guy who doesn’t conserve - sure blow your money on wasting water - you’re a genius!

PS: if a higher water bill is your biggest problem, go see Slumdog Millionaire and count your blessings.