Re: Blueberries in Berkeley
Barbara Sargent wrote:
> Dear Michael,
> Your blueberry strip sounds luscious and unique. I'm intrigued by your
> watering schedule. I'd love to grow blueberries but am not sure I could pay
> for all that water (if it's indeed as much as it sounds like). If you
> wouldn't mind, could you give us an idea of your bi-monthly water bills?
> I live in Berkeley also, water much less than I'd like to, and have bills
> of around 80.00 bi-monthly in the summer.
Barbara, Michael has a VERY LARGE garden, with 1000's of plants, so his water
bill probably does at all not reflect his blueberry watering. However, I also
live in Berkeley, and if you look closely at your water bill (you may have to
call up to find out exactly what the rates are), you will find that about 80%
of the bill is for flat charges, that don't increase if your water usage
drastically increases. There is almost no incentive in the rate structure to
conserve water. (The City and EBMUD want to take in as much money as they can,
regardless of conservation.) In the hot hills, or on the other side, where
water use is much greater, there are higher charges for the much greater water
use. The water for 20 blueberry bushes, adequately mulched, would probably
only be another two dollars per billing period.
