You can tweak the balance between fixed and usage charges though. I've lived places where the fixed amount of my water bill was maybe $10-$15/mo while a unit (

You can tweak the balance between fixed and usage charges though. I've lived places where the fixed amount of my water bill was maybe $10-$15/mo while a unit (~750 gallons) of water was about $5. My current home, at the other extreme, has almost $90/mo in fixed charges while a unit of water runs about $1. Not nearly the same incentive to conserve water but I am much more confident that my city will still be able to service the infrastructure 20 years from now.