Peak Oil Task Force Report - City of Bloomington - State of Indiana

2. Advocate a tiered pricing system whereby consumers pay a rate based on
consumption.
The Mayor has expressed an interest in pursuing a rate structure to encourage water
conservation. 68 The proposal must be approved by the Indiana Regulatory Commission. 69
A tiered‐rate structure would mean that the unit price of consumption would increase after
usage exceeds a predetermined basic monthly amount. While any such rate must be non‐
discriminatory (e.g., must not discriminate against larger families), linking price to use will
go some distance in reducing demand – peak and otherwise. In Athens‐Clarke County,
Georgia – an oft‐cited college town comparable to Bloomington – rates are based on each
customer’s winter average. Officials in that community estimate that this rate structure
will save approximately one million gallons of water per day in the summer when use is at
its peak. 70
3. Encourage rainwater capture.
Outdoor water use can comprise 25% to 58% of overall domestic water demand. 71
Rainwater harvesting has significant potential to reduce stormwater runoff while
conserving potable water. Rainwater capture offers a number of advantages: 72
• provides an inexpensive supply of water;
• reduces stormwater runoff and pollution;
• reduces erosion in urban environment;
• provides water that needs little treatment for irrigation or non‐potable indoor uses;
• helps reduce peak summer demands; and
• helps introduce demand management for drinking water systems.
68 State of the City Address, 2009.
69 Indiana Code § 8‐1.5‐3‐8 governs rates and charges for municipal utilities and requires that rates must be
"nondiscriminatory, reasonable, and just." "Reasonable and just" charges are defined as paying for all of the
necessary costs of the utility, including maintenance, operating charges, upkeep, repairs, depreciation, bond
interest, and the costs of extensions and replacements.
70 http://www.athensclarkecounty.com/documents/pdf/publicutilities/water_conservation_rates.pdf
71 Christopher Kloss, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure:
Municipal Handbook – Rainwater Harvesting Policies, p.1, , EPA‐833‐F‐08‐010 (December 2008).
http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/gi_munichandbook_harvesting.pdf
72 Texas Rainwater Harvesting Evaluation Committee, Rainwater Harvesting Potential and Guidelines for
Texas, Report to the 80 th Legislature, Texas Water Development Board, Austin, TX (November 2003).
Report of the Bloomington Peak Oil Task Force
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