ᐅ Outdoor water meter / garden water meter

Hello everyone,

Today I don’t have a problem or question, but rather a tip to share:

We don’t have a rainwater tank, so we have been using a lot of water from our outdoor faucet for watering our "garden" (currently just growing lawn) and for work on our outdoor area (mixing concrete, etc.). This, of course, incurs both fresh water and wastewater charges. However, since this water does not go into the sewer system, I looked into it:

In our municipality (this can be regulated differently by each municipality in their wastewater regulations), it is possible to install a so-called garden water meter / outdoor water meter.

Regulations in our municipality (may vary elsewhere):

• A calibrated meter can be installed by yourself (available online with mounting materials for under 30 euros; these meters are certified for 6 years)
• The meter must be accessible to the municipality if required (for reading)
• The meter reading must be submitted to the municipality by January 15
• No wastewater fees are charged for the water used once the consumption exceeds 10 cubic meters (why it starts at 10, neither I nor the municipal official know, but that is what the regulation states :rolleyes)
• I found this information in the wastewater fee statute and the wastewater fee increase statute

Wastewater charges are 3.75 euros per cubic meter here. That means if over the certified 6 years I use a total of 8 cubic meters above the minimum consumption, the meter will have already paid for itself.

If I had known and implemented this at the beginning of the outdoor work, I would have saved the cost by now.

Maybe this tip will help someone else as well.

I decided to install a groundwater pump instead. In addition to the drilling costs (or flushing), you also have to consider the purchase of the pump and the electricity costs.

However, I see a few advantages: independent water supply (also useful in emergencies, though I consider this a secondary benefit), easy connection of multiple outlets, and inexpensive taps (these outdoor faucets also cost a few euros and aren’t always possible at every location).

Just as a thought—flushing cost me 400 euros, the pump (JP5) 120 euros, 50 meters (160 feet) of PE pipe 50 euros, plus the cost of taps.

Here, there is also an exemption from wastewater charges for outdoor faucets, but only starting from a total consumption of 31m³ (40.6 yd³) per person. Last year, with 3 people, we used 92m³ (120.5 yd³) in total, about 30m³ (39.2 yd³) of which was from the outdoor faucet. I decided not to apply for the exemption for the 1m³ (1.3 yd³).

So far this year, I have used around 9m³ (11.8 yd³) at the outdoor faucet. It is unlikely to exceed 13-15m³ (17-20 yd³) in 2016.

This supports my assumption that any storage tanks with the associated costs for pumps, electricity, and maintenance can only become economical after a very long time or must be very inexpensive to purchase. However, hardly anyone places the "stylish" green water barrels in newly landscaped gardens anymore, and the IBC containers (when uncoated) are not exactly attractive either.

You don’t seem to be digging up much – or do you have very small garden areas? 13-15 m³ (17-20 yd³) is not much for a garden – especially newly created gardens usually require more at the beginning.

I don’t really calculate something like that either – it’s more important to me that the monthly payments are low. What I pay once is more for enjoyment.

I have about 250-300m² (2700-3200 sq ft) of lawn. This year, I watered the lawn maybe 12-15 times, regularly watered the plants, and occasionally filled the small paddling pool. However, unlike last year, we’ve had occasional rain showers. Last year, rainstorms and thunderstorms would pass by for weeks without a single drop falling here. Also, the lawn is becoming more resilient.

Musketier schrieb:
... and filled the small paddling pool.

The dirty water that the children leave behind in the small paddling pool (which is really only 1 m x 1 m (3 ft x 3 ft) for us) I then collect with a watering can and use it to water the plants located further away. (This way I don’t have to reconnect the hose every time, and the dirty water still serves a good purpose.)

By the way, an outdoor water meter wouldn’t be worthwhile for us since we mainly irrigate using the rainwater tank. That’s why I haven’t looked into it so far.
Drilling a well is probably not an option either, since we built relatively far above the groundwater level (at least that’s my assumption based on the elevation difference between the Saar River and our house).