CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS MEMORANDUM

Transcription

1 BEVERLY HILLS CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: Public Works Commission Gil Borboa, Asst Dir Public Works/Utilities Debby Figoni, Water Conservation Administrator DATE: September 13, 2018 SUBJECT: Update Submeters and Residential Irrigation Meters RECOMMENDATION This report provides an update on the development of Submeter and Residential Irrigation Meter policies and procedures Following the Public Works Commission review and discussion, Staff recommends further development of these issues to be accomplished with the assistance and input of the Commission s AdHoc Subcommittee on Excessive Water Use Policy/Building Code and Legislative Update SUBMETERING ORDINANCE UPDATE Per the Public Works Commission s request, staff from the Public Works Department met with staff from the Building & Safety Division of the Community Development Department to discuss the details of submetering in new, multifamily dwellings Submeters are individual meters behind the master meter These meters are installed on each water line servicing the individual units, allowing the monitoring of water consumption for each unit Whereas the master meter is Cityowned and maintained, submeters are owned, operated, and maintained by the landlord, property management firm, condominium association, or homeowners association Legislation recently signed by California Governor Jerry Brown (SB7, Wolk, Housing: water meters: multiunit structures) requires owners of multiunit rental properties constructed after January 1, 2018 to submeter all apartments and multifamily units SB7 was enacted to encourage additional responsible water use and conservation in light of California s recent drought The legislation encourages conservation of water in multifamily residential rental buildings through means either within the landlord s or the tenant s control, and establishes that the practices involving the submetering of dwelling units for water service are just and reasonable, and include appropriate safeguards for both tenants and landlords To allow for periodic reading and maintenance, water meters are placed within the public rightofway on the street side of the development or in an alley behind the project The frontage area of many properties along the street often is not large enough to accommodate multiple meters, and alleys behind many properties similarly present space constraints due to their narrow width and conflicts with other utility services in the alley Multifamily projects incorporating more than six units require significant space for meters, which is often not available because of placement of parkway trees, refuse enclosures, or parking areas among other things

2 Given that State law now requires new multiunit properties to be constructed with individual meters (via submeters), this report recommends that existing Beverly Hills code be clarified to require individual water meters for all new MultiFamily Residential (MFR) projects, with MFR projects with more than six units be required to install a City master meter with private submeters Staff analysis of SB7 and the challenges inherent in installing multiple water meters at one location, provide the basis for the following recommended amendment to the Beverly Hills Building and Safety Code: 1 Six (6) units or less new MFR construction to install dedicated meters for each unit Other details: a Individual water meters to be installed by the City on the public rightofway and would be read, billed and maintained by the City b Each meter to include the following fees: water connection, capacity and supply 2 Seven (7) units or more to install a submeter system Other details: a Install one master water meter b One charge for the following fees: water connection, capacity and supply c Meter to be installed by the City in the public rightofway and would be read, billed and maintained by the City Install dedicated meters for each unit d Building owner required to install an onsite submetering system for each individual unit Building owner to be responsible for the ongoing maintenance, reading and billing of the submeters Note: Every new multifamily building must install a dedicated meter for all outdoor and common area water use This use would include irrigation for landscape, pool, fountain, washing machines, etc This meter to include the following fees: water connection, capacity and supply Following consultation with the Commission s AdHoc Subcommittee, Staff will return to the Commission a draft ordinance prior to advancing the process to Council liaison and the full City Council RESIDENTIAL IRRIGATION METERS A dedicated irrigation meter is a water meter which exclusively meters water used for outdoor watering and irrigation For Beverly Hills, as for many water utilities, separate irrigation meters have long been utilized for parks, medians, and playing fields With the City s sizeable quantity of large single family residential properties with extensive landscaped areas and corresponding large water demand, establishment of a residential irrigation (landscape) meter program could create benefits for those customers voluntarily desirous of separating their outdoor water consumption from their indoor use, and conversely, create a methodology to enforce a means of water reduction during periods of extensive water shortage The benefits for the City of a separate meter for irrigation includes: Accurate independent measurement of outdoor (and consequently indoor) use Better ability to manage peak demands driving by irrigation Ability to offer alternative pricing structures for domestic and irrigation water use Improved price signaling for outdoor water use Additional drought management tool 2 of 5

3 From the customer perspective, a separate irrigation meter provides the following benefits: Accurate measurement of outdoor water use Separate shutoff for the irrigation system Lower bills resulting from increased availability of lower priced tieri water Key Features of a Residential Meter Program Interruptible supply: the drought management capability afforded the City during a period of severe water shortage In order to accomplish this, a condition of service for irrigation meters would be that the service is interruptible Water pricing structure: upon the establishment of a sufficient number of irrigation meters, establishment of an irrigation class of customers, with water priced at the same rate as potable water for the same meter sizes Backflow prevention: State regulations require backflow protection on any domestic service to a property with more than one service connection This installation may lead to increased demands on the City s backflow prevention/testing program and will be considered in the cost impacts of program implementation Customer cost: Although the potential for customer savings on individual water bills may be enticing, the current fee structure for a separate irrigationdedicated connection may be prohibitive for many customers The Water Capacity fee and the Water Supply fee are not applicable to a secondary irrigation connection (this would require a code change); however, the current water connection fee for a iinch meter is $11,03063 In the following Table 1, the payback period for this connection fee is estimated for various usage amounts, assuming Tier 4 water comprises the outdoor water use and is therefore removed from the domestic meter The calculation uses only the savings on the domestic (indoor) meter to calculate the savings/payback; customer cost including the price for irrigation water and the plumbing retrofit to segregate the irrigation system are not included 3 of 5

4 U Diff Diff U Mo Table I Savings If Separate Landscape Meter Installed Customer would have to use at least 119 unit of water inside to get entice savings ROl about a 17 to 63 years (only City fee is installation) ROl above does not include s associated on the customers side of the meter Scenario 1 (max (119 units) example, not realistic) Scenario 2(50 units indoor) Diff from Mo Fixed Tier /Unit of Units Savings Tier /Unit, from, Tier 4$ of Units Savings Fixed Tier2 $ 530 $ 10,85 45 $ Tier3 $ 836 $ $ $ 1,10811 $ 1,06345 Total Units Meter connection fee (1) = $11,03063 itime fee When ROl hits = [ 17 years Scenario 3(40 units indoor) Total Savings Net Saving Tier 2 $ 530 $ $43400 Tier 3 $ 836 $ $ Tier4 $ 1615 $ 50 $55530 $ Total Units Total Savi Net Saving Meter connection fee (1 ) = $11,03063 itime fee When ROl hits = 36 years Scenario 4(30 units indoor) Diff from Mo Fixed Tier /Unit Uof Units Savings Tier2 $ 530 $ $ Mo from Tier /Unit P of Units Savings Tier 1 $ 402 $ $12130 Tier 2 $ 530 $ $21700 Fixed Tier 3 $ 836 $ $ 40 $ $ Total Units Total Savings Net Savings Tier3 $ 836$ $33830 $ Total Units Total Savi Net Savings Meter connection fee (1 ) = $11, time fee When ROl hits = I 46 years Note: Water Rates in Table I are current Calendar Year rates Incentivizing Residential Irrigation Meters Meterconnection fee (1 ) = $11,03063 itime fee When ROl hits = I 63 years The full success of an interruptible irrigation meter program depends on having sufficient size of customers in the irrigation class to make a meaningful impact on water consumption should the City require a forced cutback/interruption in this supply Currently, only 3% of the City s demand derives from irrigation meters, and these are primarily municipal irrigation accounts Following an outreach/marketing campaign addressing the availability and effectiveness of residential irrigation meters, the following concepts can be considered as possibilities to assist customers with the affordability of installing a dedicated irrigation meter: No cost installations This is problematic from a cost of service perspective, as it would appear as a subsidy to single family residential customers from the rest of the City s customer base Fund the installations from the City s conservation program budget, which is primarily funded from revenues collected in Tier 4 water use 4 of 5

5 Fund the installations from money generated from lease of water enterpriseowned properties Keep the installation fee at $1 1K, and offer multiyear payback periods In all cases, the customer would remain responsible for any onsite irrigation system and for plumbing modifications Such modifications would be subject to inspection and approval by City forces Furthermore, final approval would require customers to enroll in the City s Water Tracker system, which tracks water consumption on a daily basis Forced Compliance Automated Meter Infrastructure (AMI) data allows analysis of consumption data which may be assessed to identify those exceptionally high users in the residential single family class of customers Those customers identified as repeatedly exceeding calculated water allowances can be specifically targeted for further outreach and encouragement to install a residential irrigation meter Continued exceedance could result in mandated installation of irrigation meters, at full cost of installation fees in effect at that time Staff is analyzing water allowances in an effort to see how many residential customers are excessive water users and what types of programs will motivate them to use water more efficiently MUNICIPAL CODE AMENDMENT CONSIDERATIONS Compliance and enforcement of a new submeter ordinance will require an amendment to the Utilities and Franchises Ordinance, Title 6, Chapter 1, Article 2 Water Service Similarly, code changes to address a residential irrigation meter requirement will be made in amendments to Title 9, Chapter 4, Article 3 Emergency Water Conservation Plan 5 of 5