If you're not using a well on your property then you've probably seen the water meter in your house or the basement.  They’re what municipalities use to track water usage and figure out what to charge you.  They don’t just charge for the water coming in though, they charge for the water going out and going back into water system to be cleaned, sanitized & turned back into potable water.  However, when we’re using water outside of our homes and businesses, it doesn’t go back into the system, it goes into our lawns, plants & pools.  With only the one standard water meter though, the city can’t track what the water was used for, so they just have to assume it all went back into the system & you get charged the sewer & waste-water fees on everything.  This can be up to half of your bill!  There's good news though, there is an easy solution to this problem