national multiple family submetering and allocation billing program ...

never subtracting for common area water use. In one case it was reported that metered common
area use was subtracted from the total bill. The frequency and methods used to subtract for
common area and/or irrigation usage are shown in Table 4.21.
Table 4.20 RUBS allocation methods
RUBS Allocation Method
% of Companies Using Method*
Based on number of residents per unit 94.4%
Based on area (square footage) of dwelling
83.3%
unit
Flat fee 44.4%
Based on number of bedrooms 33.3%
Based on number of fixtures 27.8%
Based on number of bathrooms 22.2%
Other 22.2%
*Percents add to more than 100% as respondents could give more than one answer
Table 4.21 RUBS – common area/irrigation adjustment method
RUBS – Common Area/Irrigation Adjustment Method
% of Companies
Using Method*
Based on property owner specifications 61.1%
Based on specific common area amenities present (i.e. swimming pool, hot 61.1%
tub, kitchen, landscaping, water feature, etc.)
Based on a percentage of total water use (typically about 10 – 20%) 50.0%
Other methods 16.7%
Fixed dollar amount subtracted 5.6%
Fixed volume of water subtracted 5.6%
Not applicable 5.6%
*Percents add to more than 100% as respondents could give more than one answer
Submetering Methods
Most companies that bill using submeters use both manual and automatic meter reading
(AMR) methods. More than 61% of respondents use manual meter reading and 94.4% use AMR
at some or all of their submetered properties. The various AMR technologies being used by the
responding companies include: Touch Read, Radio Read, wireless, 3G, Inovonics, RAMAR,
Speed Read, Master Meter, Tap Watch, Hexagram, Quad Logic, and Wellspring point of use and
pulse meter transmitter base station with modem.
Approximately 72% of respondents indicated that they have implemented a meter
maintenance standard and 22% reported not having a maintenance standard. 76.5% of
respondents reported having a meter testing standard for accuracy, while 17.6% said they do not
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