What a backyard rink adds to your water bill
The first fill is the big number, but a rink also takes thin top-up floods all winter, and some utilities add a sewer charge to every gallon. I did not find a guide that adds those up, so the estimator below does: first fill, plus floods, at your water and sewer rate. It assumes a level yard on city tap water.
Your season of water
- First fill: 1,122 gallons
- Top-ups: 24 floods × about 47 gallons = 1,122 gallons
- All season: 2,244 gallons, $31.64 water
Open this rink in the calculator for liner, boards and a sloped yard.
How the numbers are made
One cubic foot holds 7.48 US gallons, so a gallon count is area × inches ÷ 12 × 7.48. For 40 × 20 ft that is 499 gallons per inch of water. The defaults are 3 in for the first fill, then 2 floods a week for 12 weeks, each laying 1/8 in. The 1/8 in layer, the 2 floods and the 12 weeks are my guesses, not measured figures, so change them to match how you skate. Each flood then takes about 62 gallons, and the season about 2,992 gallons.
The default water rate is the $14.10 per 1,000 gallons that the town of Poolesville, Maryland lists, used as an example on the water guide. Your own rate is on your bill. The estimate leaves out evaporation, leaks, snow meltwater and the water you drain in spring, so treat it as a floor.
Top-up depth moves the total
Your rink and rates above, with 2 floods a week for 12 weeks. A light touch-up costs little. At 1/4 in a flood, the top-ups use twice the water of a 3 in first fill (the default).
| Layer per flood | Gallons per flood | Season gallons | Season cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/32 in | 12 | 1,403 | $19.78 |
| 1/8 in | 47 | 2,244 | $31.64 |
| 1/4 in | 94 | 3,366 | $47.46 |
The resurfacing guide has the water for one pass and the flooding guide covers when to flood.
By rink size
3 in first fill, 1/8 in top-ups, 2 floods a week for 12 weeks, $14.10 per 1,000 gallons, no sewer charge. Tap a size to load it above.
| Rink (ft) | First fill | Top-ups | Season cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 × 30 | 1,122 gal | 1,122 gal | $31.64 |
| 20 × 40 | 1,496 gal | 1,496 gal | $42.19 |
| 30 × 60 | 3,366 gal | 3,366 gal | $94.93 |
| 40 × 80 | 5,984 gal | 5,984 gal | $168.76 |
The sewer charge
Many utilities bill sewer by the water you use, even when the water never reaches a drain. Frederick Water in Virginia says "sewer charges are based on water usage" and that its board does not permit deduction meters (Frederick Water FAQ). Others will credit it. Grinnell, Iowa rents an outside watering meter for $20 that clips onto an outdoor spigot, and the water it records is credited against your sewer charges. The city says 300 cubic feet of water covers the $20 charge (City of Grinnell). The Grinnell page names lawns, gardens and pools, so ask whether a rink counts.
That break-even is 2,244 gallons, so the 40 × 20 ft default season (2,992 gallons) is above it and a 20 × 30 ft rink lands right at it. If your utility offers a credit, ask before the first fill so the meter is on from the start. Put your sewer rate in the form above to see what it adds if there is no credit.
Tap, truck or hydrant
- Tap. Cheapest per gallon for most homes, and the top-ups need nothing else.
- Water truck. Sniper's Edge Hockey quotes about $400 to $500 per truck in the Twin Cities, holding 5,000 or 6,000 gallons (Sniper's Edge). That is roughly $67 to $100 per 1,000 gallons, several times a typical tap rate, so a truck pays off only when the hose would take too long. The water guide compares hose and truck times.
- Hydrant. Do not use one, they belong to the utility. A Tinley Park, Illinois group filled a rink of about 26,000 gallons from a school hydrant, and the reporter put the water at about $130 (NBC Chicago). That works out to about $5 per 1,000 gallons, a useful scale for cheap tap water.
Keeping the bill down
- Level the floor. Every inch of extra depth on the low end is gallons you pay for, and the sloped yard guide shows how much.
- Skip the extra floods you do not need. Shovel snow off first (see snow on a backyard rink) so one thin pass is enough.
- Check the meter. Read it before and after the first fill to learn your real gallons per inch.
Water is only part of the budget. The cost guide adds liner, boards and brackets.