My water is billed quarterly and I am "eagerly" awaiting the bill. On the acre or so here it seems the sprinklers are going someplace at least every other day for a few hours and nights like tonight I let it trickle on a tree for several hours.

What do you think the worst bill I can expect is?

Who do you think is going to have the worst bill? My vote is poor Ken, larger lot than I have and a good looking mature planting plan.

What is the worst bill you have ever heard of?

I can't break mine out, we have a well, so the cost of water is the cost of electricity to pump it. My hose is running 2-3 hours a day most days. Part of that is watering my main 110 x 110 veg. garden, and that is coming to an end for the most part. Corn is all being harvested this weekend, I did half yesterday and will put the rest in the freezer tomorrow. Tomatoes have mostly set fruit, it's sizing and needs to ripen, at that stage, their water needs are far lower, in fact, drought actually maximizes fruit quality for processing by raising sugars and flavor components and decreasing excess moisture capacity. That will leave me basically with peppers, eggplant, and brassica crops that can be watered on a small-scale basis.

I really feel for your region. We're on the fringes here of the massive drought of epic proportions. In fact, I've had 3 rains in the past 10 days, none of them more than a third of an inch, but it's greened the landscape again, lawns are all green with new growth, stressed herbaceous plants have perked up. Our lake levels are really dropping, but nothing worse than other years. I can't really fathom what it must be like in places like Kansas or Missouri or Oklahoma with the combination of drought and extreme heat. 122 in Oklahoma the other day. Unreal.

He has over 2 acres of lawn, however.

Something is wrong or that municipality has some issues.

I did the math and it makes sense based on his water rates. One inch rain equivalent is 27000 gallons per acre, his yard is 2.08 acres (of actual grass, the entire lot is larger, this is according to him), he watered the equivalent of 4 inches (very hot and dry) during the time, so... 2.08 X 27000 X 4 = 224,640 gallons...and his water is something like $5 per 1000 gallons so 224.640 * $5 = $1123.20. Add normal usage and there you are. Keep in mind, this guy has a KBG lawn that looks like a golf course.

So...now that I know what a 2 acre lawn costs to maintain in a drought...meh, well...

What a terrible waste. Let the stuff go dormant.

$4/gal x2 each and every time I run the blasted thing...at least twice a week.

$125 in labor to tell me the motor is running well but they have no idea why the pump is hinky.

2weeks and $75 in phone calls to locate someone who dares admit a) they have heard of a water pump, b) operate a business that repairs them and c) knows how to repair them...to find out the best guy lives across town, about three miles away.

$300 in parts and labor, replacing seals.

Just so I can have me very own tomatoes. Screw the bloody edibles, I can get them at a farmers market for $3/lb and let the grass go brown when it wants to.