In my town, the charge for the sewer is identical to the water charge. So basically they're assuming that every drop of water that comes out of your faucets goes back into the sewer. It's a total sham. Most of the year, that's fine, but in the summer when watering the lawn they make a killing. It wouldn't be billed that way if I had a separate water meter connected to the hoses, but they charge crazy permit fees to have that installed. I'm sure it doesn't compare to rates out that in CA, but man, this past summer's bills were not fun (new lot, new sod).