national multiple family submetering and allocation billing program ...

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NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE FOR METERING STANDARDS The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredits developers of standards in the private sector and coordinates their development. ANSI is the private counterpart of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a non-regulatory Federal agency. Both the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) are accredited by ANSI to develop standards. Both the AWWA (C700-95) and ASME (A112.4.7) meter standards are voluntary, industry consensus, product standards that include accuracy requirements. The ASME standard becomes a requirement when it is adopted into a plumbing code, which then requires third party testing and listing. The primary difference between the AWWA and the ASME Standards is that the ASME standards apply to meters downstream of the utility (master) meter. Another way to view it is that the AWWA standards apply to the distribution side of the water system and the ASME standards apply to the plumbing side of the water system. The ASME A112.4.7 currently references the tolerances in AWWA C700-95 for meter accuracy and extends them without change to smaller POU and branch meters, which are sometimes used in submetering applications. The AWWA accuracy standards for 5/8 meters still apply because they were adopted by reference in ASME. According to ANSI, the ASME standard applies to water meters with capacities up to 15 gpm, while AWWA standards apply to water meters above 15 gpm in capacity. Since the AWWA tolerances are incorporated by reference in ASME, there currently is no distinction except that ASME specifies use of the AWWA 5/8-inch positive displacement tolerances on all meter sizes up to and including 5/8 inch. The AWWA standards, used by most utilities as a basis for meter purchases, covers only cold-water meters with accuracy testing in flow ranges from .25 gpm to the rated capacity. The ASME Standard, adopted by regulators in many parts of the country, and incorporated into many plumbing codes, such as the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) and NSF (formally known as the National Sanitation Foundation), covers hot and cold water with accuracy testing from .25 gpm to 15 gpm. So, POU meters fall under the purview of the ASME standards. IAPMO and NSF are non-profit organizations that certify products as having passed various “standards” tests. These organizations primarily list and certify the plumbing products. IAPMO can develop and adopt “Preliminary Standards” (PS) called Interim Guide Criteria (IGC) for incorporation into plumbing codes. Plumbing inspectors look for both 242
the Universal Plumbing Code (UPC) seals on plumbing products certifying compliance with the IAPMO and NSF standards. Within NIST is the Office of Weights and Measures (OWM), a non-regulatory agency, which promotes uniformity in U.S. weights and measures laws, regulations, and standards to achieve equity. To help accomplish this mission, OWM established the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM). The NCWM is a professional organization of state and local weights and measures officials and representatives of business, industry, consumer groups, and Federal agencies. NIST publishes standards developed by the NCWM. OWM oversees a Device Technology Program, which develops procedures for testing, weighing, and measuring devices. NIST publishes the NCWM Handbook 44, “Specifications, Tolerances, and Other Technical Requirements for Weighting and Measuring Devices”. The Handbook 44 standards, upon adoption by states, become regulation. Handbook 44 has been adopted entirely in 39 states and partly in the remaining 11 states and is updated annually. Weights and measure officials respond to complaints by consumers regarding meter accuracy. Also hosted by OWM is the NCWM’s National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP). NTEP has 12 participating labs around the country to test compliance with national standards; however, only three labs have testing facilities for water meters and they are in California, Maryland, and New York. Basically, the NTEP provides a central evaluation process for manufacturers. Following successful testing by NTEP, the NCWM can issue an official Certificate of Conformance. The Certificate of Conformance is recognized by most states. In States not recognizing the NCWM certificate, additional testing may be required. NTEP Certificates for Conformance are not issued for water submeters. However, they are tested against Handbook 44 requirements contained in sections 1.10 and 3.36 in California and upon a complaint in the other states. Handbook 44 requires devices be tested for compliance in the application conditions they are going to be used. The Handbook 44 accuracy requirements are nearly identical to ASME A112.4.7 and AWWA C700. The Handbook is slightly more liberal at the low flow test. All other tolerances are identical. Included in the California device code is a requirement that submeters be tested for accuracy and re-certified once during every 10-year interval. Only California has adopted the requirement that local officials (County Sealers) test and certify all submeters for compliance. However, OWM officials respond to and investigate consumer 243
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NATIONAL MULTIPLE FAMILY SUBMETERIN
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CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES............
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Matched-Pair Analysis .............
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LIST OF TABLES Table ES.1.1 Breakdo
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Table 6.6 Elasticity values, analys
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Figure 4.30 RUBS water bill #6 ....
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investigated local water savings as
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We are grateful to the members of a
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quantitative aspects of separate bi
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3. Owner/postcard survey: To identi
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"averages" of impact property water
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in-rent properties, others used the
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of these models included the billin
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70 Average Annual Water Use Per Uni
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COSTS AND BENEFITS Beyond quantifyi
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service charge, then the resident w
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Billing Method Efficient Fixtures?
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70 Avg. Water Use per MF Unit (kgal
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REGULATORY FRAMEWORK REVIEW The fra
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Table ES.1.12 NSUAA Summary of Stat
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above, the researchers offer the fo
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service is preferable, and would he
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practices (BMPs) should be implemen
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infrastructure of the building and
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multi-family housing. The transfer
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CHAPTER 1 INTRODU CTION More and mo
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In 1998, 15.0%, or 15.4 million, of
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TERMINOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS OF BILL
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submetering. With utility-submeteri
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all the two bedroom units for $20 p
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HOW TO USE THIS REPORT This report
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CHAPTER 2 LITERAT URE REVIEW As the
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A review of the literature unearthe
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The price elasticity of water deman
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expected. Additionally, McClelland
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submetered and five control (in-ren
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Another study might want to target
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CHAPTER 3 RESEARC H METHODS, APPROA
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1. Selection of participating study
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STUDY SITE SELECTION The Study aime
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Figure 3.2 National Multiple Family
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Matched pair protocol/survey - conf
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information given the available bud
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survey. Service companies that prov
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in “business to business” calli
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MATCHED PAIR SAMPLE The purpose of
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The second part of the visit requir
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epresentative of a known population
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51 Table 3.7 Postcard survey statis
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Table 3.8 Comparison of annual wate
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postcard survey. Nevertheless, exam
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confidence interval ranged from 49.
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particular property (e.g., the mont
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State PUC officials - water commiss
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10. The PROPID number appearing on
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These costs represent the commodity
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The postcard survey provided inform
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Table 4.4 Average number of units f
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Two-thirds of the properties that r
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Percent of Surveyed Properties with
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$700 Average Rent Per Bedroom ($) $
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Percent of Surveyed Properties with
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Impact properties were also more li
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Table 4.8 Issues considered before
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Percent of Surveyed Impact Properti
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60% Percent of Surveyed Properties
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From the visits, it was found that
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100% Percent of Surveyed Residents
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Roughly similar proportions of resi
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inserts for toilets (21%) or low-fl
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proportion were unsure, 37% from su
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Table 4.18 Ownership and rental rat
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Figure 4.17 Submeter water bill #1
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wastewater rates are not shown so t
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Figure 4.23 Hot water hybrid water
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RUBS Sample Bills Seven sample RUBS
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wastewater rates are not shown so t
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Figure 4.28 RUBS water bill #4 from
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Figure 4.30 RUBS water bill #6 RUBS
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directly to and then paid by the th
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never subtracting for common area w
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Late Fees At the start of water bil
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124
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intuitively clear, and matches comm
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Indoor water use was normalized on
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Table 5.3 Summarized water use anal
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easonable assumption since there is
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Figure 5.1 shows the frequency dist
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40 Difference in Annual Water Use p
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after 1995. By including only those
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Table 5.11 Statistical tests compar
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Factors that Influence Water Use Th
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Table 5.12 Association of categoric
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Indoor Water Use per Unit in 2001 I
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Table 5.13 Continuous factors from
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Multivariate Models to Determine Im
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properties built before 1995 were c
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A = Beta coefficient for “Propert
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substantially reduces the sample si
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Table 5.17 Model #2 coefficients an
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0.00 indicating that whatever fit d
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commodity charge for water and wast
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properties having generally lower w
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110 Average Annual Water Use Per Un
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analysis, intended to control best
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Table 5.27 Paired samples test, all
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Table 5.30 Estimated water use befo
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Table 5.33 Comparison of water savi
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180
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sector only reduced usage by 18% (A
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Table 6.1 Avoided costs from submet
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submetered. Complete responses of c
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included in this cost/benefit analy
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Table 6.3 Cost and benefit for owne
Page 244 and 245: Perceived Concerns In the resident
Page 246 and 247: With a service fee, residents could
Page 248 and 249: Table 6.4 Economic return for a res
Page 250 and 251: ANALYSIS OF PRICE ELASTICITIES Econ
Page 252 and 253: concluded that if a single elastici
Page 254 and 255: esults from this analysis point to
Page 256 and 257: over which they have control than d
Page 258 and 259: According to the basic consumer cho
Page 260 and 261: The consumer choice problem can be
Page 262 and 263: 210
Page 264 and 265: water systems from compliance with
Page 266 and 267: and methods of practice. NIST publi
Page 268 and 269: Table 7.1 NSUAA Summary of State Re
Page 270 and 271: New Surveys of State Agencies and W
Page 272 and 273: the AWWA WaterStats 1999 database.
Page 274 and 275: Measures, which dispatches a public
Page 276 and 277: Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania
Page 278 and 279: 226 Table 7.6 Summary of utility re
Page 280 and 281: DISCUSSION - KEY EXAMPLES OF STATE
Page 282 and 283: ill. Condominium associations are g
Page 284 and 285: under construction after January 1,
Page 286 and 287: Weights and Measures Regulation In
Page 288 and 289: from the submetering. Meter testing
Page 290 and 291: clean and decent housing or the lac
Page 292 and 293: 240
Page 296 and 297: complaints in all 50 states and app
Page 298 and 299: - Meters must demonstrate in testin
Page 300 and 301: - Plumbing systems are space constr
Page 302 and 303: (2) Twisted or kinked flex supply l
Page 304 and 305: 252
Page 306 and 307: Estimated Water Use By Different Bi
Page 308 and 309: there are clear benefits to these s
Page 310 and 311: study site. These values were then
Page 312 and 313: immediately strengthens the owner's
Page 314 and 315: among the nation's key strategies f
Page 316 and 317: all repair and replacement decision
Page 318 and 319: These findings underscore the obser
Page 320 and 321: varies with volume of use) for mult
Page 322 and 323: Recommendation 6 - Efficient plumbi
Page 324 and 325: financially responsible for their o
Page 326 and 327: individual unit, the volume allocat
Page 328 and 329: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARC
Page 330 and 331: Fixed rates - Part of a master mete
Page 332 and 333: Total-capture submetering - a type
Page 334 and 335: 282
Page 336 and 337: Corral, L.R. 1997. Price and Non-Pr
Page 338 and 339: McClelland, L. 1980. Encouraging En
Page 340: Young, C.E., K.R. Kinsley and W.E.
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