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eference to conservation gains that could be garnered across property types including the multifamily property sector by mandatory conservation measures. The Public Utility Regulatory Act of 1978 directed that states restrict the use of master metering (that is, one meter for the entire apartment property) to cases where the owner could demonstrate that the costs of individually metering apartments exceeded the lifetime cost savings from reduced electricity usage from individual metering (16 U.S.C. 2623). In recent years the potential water savings that could be achieved through submetering and allocation billing has attracted the interest of water planners and conservationists. Population growth has placed heightened pressure on water supplies, increasing the need for effective water conservation measures. It is generally acknowledged that consumers are more discretionary with their water use when there is a direct correlation between water consumption and cost. Submetering provides a direct relationship between the two. Metering and then billing customers for the amount of water they actually use has been shown to be an effective conservation tool in the single-family residential sector (Porges 1957, Hanke and Flack 1968, Flechas 1980). The savings attributed to billing allocation methods in multi-family housing have been less conclusive. The premise of these systems is that the price signal provided by an individual bill could help consumers to undertake water-conserving behavior in their own interest while meeting collective water conservation goals. The feedback mechanism of a bill has been shown to be important in reducing electricity demand, especially when feedback is immediate (Seligman and Darley 1977). The extent to which a similar feedback mechanism impacts water use continues to be tested and debated. Improvements in metering technology and the development of third party billing service companies have facilitated the growth of separate billing in the multi-family sector. Technical advancements in water meters have made them less expensive, smaller, and remotely readable. These improvements have made installation payback periods more reasonable, especially if meters are installed during initial building construction. Alternatively, allocation billing methods are viable options when submetering is deemed too expensive or technically infeasible, a typical problem in older buildings. In addition, the third-party billing industry has been evolving with the help of entrepreneurial companies that market, install, and maintain these billing systems for property owners. 2
In 1998, 15.0%, or 15.4 million, of all U.S. households were dwelling units with 5 or more units (National Multi Housing Council 1998a). It is estimated that there are now more than 1.2 million apartment renter households that are billed separately for water and sewer (NMHC 2001). 14 That means that the vast majority of multi-family housing units have not yet been affected, suggesting further opportunity exists for expansion of third party billing and possible water savings. However, the rapid development and expansion of third party billing systems have raised questions that require further study and discussion. RESEARCH EFFORT In the National Multiple Family Submetering and Allocation Billing Program Study, a retrospective analysis of water use in multi-family properties in 13 cities was conducted. Properties that bill for water via submetering, allocation, or a hybrid systems (impacted properties) were identified and compared against control (in-rent) properties where water and wastewater fees are included as part of the rent. Using historic billing data and survey data, a variety of analyses were conducted to compare the water usage of the two groups. In addition, efforts were made to identify how these billing systems are affecting residents, managers, and utilities. This report summarizes the methodology and important findings of this study, and attempts to determine the merits of separate billing programs including the potential water savings, costs, benefits, and accompanying administrative and regulatory issues. It also includes recommendations based upon the conclusions of the study. Study Limitations The researchers made every effort to ensure that the data and results presented in this study are as complete and accurate as possible. However, every research effort has its own distinct limitations and it is important that they are acknowledged by the researchers and understood by the reader. A research project of this magnitude must rely on a variety of 14 Based on data from the 2001 American Housing Survey. Assumes a multi-family property has at least five dwelling units. The number is higher if smaller properties are included in the analysis. 3
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NATIONAL MULTIPLE FAMILY SUBMETERIN
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES............
Page 5 and 6: Matched-Pair Analysis .............
Page 7 and 8: LIST OF TABLES Table ES.1.1 Breakdo
Page 9: Table 6.6 Elasticity values, analys
Page 12 and 13: Figure 4.30 RUBS water bill #6 ....
Page 14 and 15: investigated local water savings as
Page 16 and 17: We are grateful to the members of a
Page 18 and 19: quantitative aspects of separate bi
Page 20 and 21: 3. Owner/postcard survey: To identi
Page 22 and 23: "averages" of impact property water
Page 24 and 25: in-rent properties, others used the
Page 26 and 27: of these models included the billin
Page 28 and 29: 70 Average Annual Water Use Per Uni
Page 30 and 31: COSTS AND BENEFITS Beyond quantifyi
Page 32 and 33: service charge, then the resident w
Page 34 and 35: Billing Method Efficient Fixtures?
Page 36 and 37: 70 Avg. Water Use per MF Unit (kgal
Page 38 and 39: REGULATORY FRAMEWORK REVIEW The fra
Page 40 and 41: Table ES.1.12 NSUAA Summary of Stat
Page 42 and 43: above, the researchers offer the fo
Page 44 and 45: service is preferable, and would he
Page 46 and 47: practices (BMPs) should be implemen
Page 48 and 49: infrastructure of the building and
Page 50: multi-family housing. The transfer
Page 53: CHAPTER 1 INTRODU CTION More and mo
Page 57 and 58: TERMINOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS OF BILL
Page 59 and 60: submetering. With utility-submeteri
Page 61 and 62: all the two bedroom units for $20 p
Page 63 and 64: HOW TO USE THIS REPORT This report
Page 67 and 68: CHAPTER 2 LITERAT URE REVIEW As the
Page 69 and 70: A review of the literature unearthe
Page 71 and 72: The price elasticity of water deman
Page 73 and 74: expected. Additionally, McClelland
Page 75 and 76: submetered and five control (in-ren
Page 77 and 78: Another study might want to target
Page 81 and 82: CHAPTER 3 RESEARC H METHODS, APPROA
Page 83 and 84: 1. Selection of participating study
Page 85 and 86: STUDY SITE SELECTION The Study aime
Page 87 and 88: Figure 3.2 National Multiple Family
Page 89 and 90: Matched pair protocol/survey - conf
Page 91 and 92: information given the available bud
Page 93 and 94: survey. Service companies that prov
Page 95 and 96: in “business to business” calli
Page 97 and 98: MATCHED PAIR SAMPLE The purpose of
Page 99 and 100: The second part of the visit requir
Page 101 and 102: epresentative of a known population
Page 103 and 104: 51 Table 3.7 Postcard survey statis
Page 105 and 106:
Table 3.8 Comparison of annual wate
Page 107 and 108:
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
Page 154 and 155:
Page 156 and 157:
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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
Page 192 and 193:
70 Average Annual Water Use Per Uni
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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
Page 204 and 205:
Multivariate Models to Determine Im
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properties built before 1995 were c
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70 Average Annual Water Use Per Uni
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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
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Perceived Concerns In the resident
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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
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concluded that if a single elastici
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esults from this analysis point to
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over which they have control than d
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According to the basic consumer cho
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The consumer choice problem can be
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210
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water systems from compliance with
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and methods of practice. NIST publi
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Table 7.1 NSUAA Summary of State Re
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New Surveys of State Agencies and W
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the AWWA WaterStats 1999 database.
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Measures, which dispatches a public
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Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania
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226 Table 7.6 Summary of utility re
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DISCUSSION - KEY EXAMPLES OF STATE
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ill. Condominium associations are g
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under construction after January 1,
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Weights and Measures Regulation In
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from the submetering. Meter testing
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clean and decent housing or the lac
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240
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NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE F
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complaints in all 50 states and app
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- Meters must demonstrate in testin
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- Plumbing systems are space constr
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(2) Twisted or kinked flex supply l
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252
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Estimated Water Use By Different Bi
Page 308 and 309:
there are clear benefits to these s
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study site. These values were then
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immediately strengthens the owner's
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among the nation's key strategies f
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all repair and replacement decision
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These findings underscore the obser
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varies with volume of use) for mult
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Recommendation 6 - Efficient plumbi
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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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