Nocturnal Water Usage Costs

Hello,

I will be moving into a new apartment where I will have to pay for water. Currently I am on short daily, but will be switching to nocturnal next week. I was wondering if any of you all, who are currently on noctural and pay for water, could tell me (a) did you notice a large increase in your water payments when starting Home Hemo, and (b) what you find your average water bill to be.

Thanks,
Mary

I don’t know if you can get an average because each municipality charges different for water. But our water bill came close to tripling. It will depend on how many hrs. you run. We run an average of 8 1/2 to 9 hrs.

You may be able to get the water utility to give you a break on your water bill. It can be allot of work but if you can find a sympathetic individual within the system they can guide you and help you jump through the necessary hoops. And if you are successful you will make it easier for those that follow in your foot steps.

I would start by calling the water department and asking if they give a senior/disability discount. Find out who is in charge of any discount program on offer and talk with them, you may find that there is a procedure in place or you may find that they need information to make a determination. Each water district will be different but unless you ask you’ll never know how hard the process is and if you are successful the savings can be significant month after month.

You will also need someone from your program to support your efforts – maybe your social worker? or someone from the tech department who can vouch for how much water the process uses. It can be frustrating trying to get a bureaucracy to give you a break but you can be sure that you have a good cause and they should give you a break. The water is there if you use it or not so there is no added cost for you to increase your water use. High water rates are intended to discourage people from wasting water not to discourage home dialysis – if you find the right person and explain the situation I think you could get a break.