You live in a desert and should expect your water to cost a lot.
Not as high as it is. In fact, before they asked everyone to REALLY conserve, our rate was around $70. Then after everyone cut way back, they announced the rates would be going up because we cut back “too much” and the water company couldn’t make a profit because people’s bills were too low.
http://www.harvesth2o.com/tale_of_two_cities.shtml#.U7A8w_xOVLN