Yes, we need to align incentives with conservation/consumption and minimize externalities. Unfortunately, because our buildings are not built by the parties th

Yes, we need to align incentives with conservation/consumption and minimize externalities. Unfortunately, because our buildings are not built by the parties that have to pay for consumption, that's not enough to incentivize energy efficient / green building construction. There's probably some costs that need to be shared including leaky pipes and fire departments that increase in times of heat, but that seems unlikely to account for a tripling. Your water department probably charged that way because there are water hogs that create jobs/food/etc. who wouldn't be able to foot the actual bill of their water use, so while they wanted to incentivize conservation they also wanted everyone to share the bill. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; we're in this together and need money and food.