Sub-meters reduce expenses and increase peace of mind

Woodwind at Discovery Hill:
Sub-meters reduce expenses
and increase peace of mind
without individual
meters, it's nearly impossible to identify
problems. Rogersuses
a lealry toilet to make
his point in 30 days, a
leaky toilet in one sub-
122unit project in San Marcos, installa-
metered unit contributed to a 50,00G
that do not have indi'
vidually meteredunits
experience constant
frustration in their effortsto control domeg
tion of private submeters and a meterreading contract with California Sub
Meters means that homeowners pay a
lower monthly fee than the "ready-to
gallon water bill
enough
- more than
water to fill an association's
swimming
pool. The total cost of this oversightwas
more than $243.
Although the homeowner's water bill
ticwater consumption
and expense. Whether a homeowner
washes 10 loads of laundry a week or
100 loads, takes twominute showers or
extended 2Gminuteversions, his or her
conhibution to the association's water
by the Vallecitos Water District.
"Individually metered homes ensure
that homeowners pay only for the water
theyuse," saysWoodwind's project manager, Kathi Riser ofThe Presley Companies. "\Me know this type of accountability helps maintain expense control for
the association and the homeowner."
With their new sub-metering system,
ommunityassociations
an equal
expense remains the same
share of the total domestic water bud-
-
get. This obvious inequrty, combined
with the impact of dramatic sewer and
waterrate increases, has focused a great
deal of attention on water.
Keeping operating expenses lowimproves property values, therefore, con-
holling the rising costs of water is a
high priority for builders, boards of directors and property managers. The
goal is to make every homeowner financially responsible for water used in their
home. For many community associa-
tions, sub-metering is a cost-effective
way to accomplish this goal.
For Woodwind at Discovery Hill, a
serve" feetheywould have been charged
Woodwind homeowners also benefit
from immediate notification if a meter
reading shows abnormally high water
::San Marcos, CA
46
CONDO MANAGEMENT C CATIFORNIA
Rogers pointed out the problem only
lasted 30 days. Such a prompt resolution would probably not have occurred
prior to last year's installation of submeters. "Tenants residing in the unit
did not recognize the sound of an im-
properly operating toilet and did not
bring it to the owner's attention. That
problem, and many more like it, could
have continued for months or even
years," Rogers says. "All homeowners
consumption. "Publicwater agencies do
not provide this kind of prompt notification," explains MelindaYoung of Asso-
would have shared the cost."
Group,
Woodwind's property management firm.
"Submetering is a definite benefit for
homeowners because it helps them re
solve problems quickly."
Tom Rogers, president of California
Sub-Meters, agrees that expense control is the primary benefit of sub-metering. He believes that an absence of di
rectfinancial accountabilityis one of the
reasons many homeowners are not
Public water meters and water lines
serving individual units add thousands
of dollars to the construction cost of an
association. Therefore, most community associations were constructed with
water supplied through larger master
meters which serve as a water supply
hub, often measuring water used by
eight or more units.
The term "sub-meters" describes the
ciation Management
motivated to adopt water-saving behaviors. "When homeowners do not receive
water bills, water-wasting leaks go undiscovered and unrepaired," he said.
"But when homeowners receive a personal water bill, theh interest in reducing expense
- and water use - increases immediately."
California Sub-Meters, a utility management and billing company, relieves
a great deal of the financial stress associated with water utility expenses. The
company specializes in submetering
Wood*lnd::5t, Disdotery Hill
was bad news, it was also good news, as
and also provides rate reduction services for water, sewer, gas and electric
utilities.
Undiscovered leaks and faulty fixtures represent some of the greatest
water-saving opportunities. However,
o JANUARY
1996
How sub-metering works
water-meter configuration, not necessarilythe meter. In fact, the meters used
to sub-meter individual units are manufactured by the same companies that
supply meters to public water agencies.
Sub-meters are installed on the main
water line at a point inside or outside
each individual unitwhere allwater used
by that unit (and that unit alone) passes
through the meter. Reading is facilitated manually or through the use of an
electronic reading device, depending
on the type of meter installed.
The state of California certifies meters
for certain applications based on perfor-
mance accuracy. Rogers stresses that
certified electronic meters are most re
liable. Uncertified meters may deliver
inaccurate readings or be subject to tamnot something an association
pering
-
wants to deal with. Any organization
purchasing meters should be sure the
units are "tagged,"which indicates state
certification.
Once submeters are installed, asse
ciations continue to receive and pay
water billsfr om the publicwater agency.
Homeowners essenfily reimburse the
association for their portion of the total
cost.
The sub-metering facilitator is a pri.
vate utility management companywhich
reads the submeters, produces and
mails individual water bills and, in the
case of C,alifornia Sub-Meters, receives
and processes payments and handles all
collection activities. As in anybusiness,
service is the key to success. Helping to
identifr and resolve problems is as important as billins the appropriatewater
user, Rogers says.
Savings and cost
There are hro kinds of savings an
association realizes by installing sub
meters.The first is an overallreduction
in water consumption and cost due to
leak identification, repair and water conservation activities. The second is es.
sential elimination of domestic water
costs from the association's budget. By
reimbursing
the
association,
homeowners with an idea of the cost for
homeowners should bring the domes.
tic water budget to zero.
Aswith all investrnents, builders and
boards of directors should consider ap
propriate technology, equipment quality, total cost and pay back Most asso
ciations can orpect to recapture the installation cost of sub-meters within two
years, and in as little as eight months.
their typical water-use habits and an
Reading/bi[ing options
California SubMeters' clients have
confacted with the company for meter
reading, billing and payment collection
services. After receiving and process
ing homeowner payments, one check is
sentto the management company. Asa
result, existing property management
roles remain unchanged.
Homeowners' water bills typically
include all of the consumption-based
charges assessed by water agencies and
exha dollars for the reading/billing company's services.
a few
After initial sub-meter installation, and
prior to requirinc the frst homeowner
payments, Rogers recommends a tan-
sition period durine which "sample'
water bills are mailed.The "sample" bill
is non-payable and provides
7013 Osler Street
San Diego, CA 9
opportunity to make changes before the
first "payable" bill arrives.
Bi[ing technologr
Database integration in stat*of-the
art bifling systems allows for many of
the custom features and data history
rebieval functions available from water
utility agencies. Associations should
look for and expect reader-friendly formatswith consumption history options,
comprehensive payment tracking and
quality manag:ement reports.
Water bills can be generated bimonthly, monthly or as frequently as an
association desires. Custom messages
can be printed on the water bills to
remind homeowners of activities, like
annual meetings.
Water submetering is a practical so
lution to escalating water costs. Individual bilhg shifts the total cost of do
mestic water consumption from the as
sociation to the water user.
There are some things neighbors
should not have to share
of water.
-
like the cost