AUM, who manage water and sewage billing on behalf of The Avalon Mountain View, recently informed tenants that water billing by measure (submetering) will be replaced by billing by inference (ratio utility billing system, also known as RUBS). The reasoning given was that the type of meters currently used are no longer manufactured.
Changing to RUBS is costly to residents and damaging to the environment. Under the new system, tenants who make sincere efforts to conserve water pay the same as those who do not conserve water[1]. Removing submetering also makes water leaks are less likely to be reported and more difficult to detect[2].
Studies have shown water consumption to be around 12-15% higher in apartments using RUBS to allocate water billing compared to those using submetering[3][4][5]. A 15% increase in use represents as a 15% increase in water bills for all residents. With California's population growth, responsible apartment communities should be seeking ways to reduce water consumption, not increase it.
If it is true that the current meters are no longer manufactured, staying with submetering would incur an upgrade cost in the range of $100-$300 per apartment[2]. Not only would such costs be adsorbed within two to three months by the recent $135/month rent increase, but they are also dwarfed by the $1880/month rental cost for a two bedroom apartment.
Who pays more under RUBS?
Apartments that use less than average amounts of water bear the cost of those that abuse water. If average water usage goes up 15%, everyone will pay more. Individual residents who attempt to conserve water will see no cost savings.
Occupants go on vacation or go to the hospital will also reduce the apartments water usage, but the water bill will remain constant.
Who benefits under RUBS?
Apartments that use more than average amounts of water benefit. In a community of 250 apartments using RUBS, an individual who doubles their water usage only pays 0.4% more compared to their normal usage.
A clothes washer normally accounts for 21% of the apartments water usage[6]. If an apartment starts washing and ironing clothes as a small business, their water usage (and the communities water costs) will dramatically increase, but their RUBS water bill will not.
As the RUBS water bill is calculated based on the number of occupants, unregistered occupants also represent a cost that can be offloaded to the rest of the community.
Switching to a new billing system rarely works well for the first few months. What safeguards are in place to catch aberrations during the transition? What resources do residents have to detect problems with the new system?
References:
[1] Submetering of Water - a Growing Concern - Stephen Cook
http://ts.nist.gov/WeightsAndMeasures/upload/B-003.pdf
[2] Controlling Utility Costs - HousingFinance.com
http://www.housingfinance.com/housingreferencecenter/Utility_Costs.html
[3] Submetering and Allocation Billing
http://www.aquacraft.com/Download%20Reports/Submetering%20and%20Allocation%20Billing%20Final%20Report%20-%20Executive%20Summary.pdf
[4] Submetering, RUBS and Water Conservation
http://www.nmhc.org/content/servefile.cfm?fileID=502
[5] Submetering - Environmental Protection Agency
http://www.epa.gov/ow/you/submeter.html
[6] Energy Down The Drain - National Resource Defence Council
http://www.nrdc.org/water/conservation/edrain/edrain.pdf
