RESIDENTIAL PRIVATE WATER SUB-METER INFORMATION PACKAGE (Four Dwelling Units And Fewer On A Single Water Meter)
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INTENTION OF THIS PACKAGE
The information in this package will provide you with the following: To allow customers with four dwelling units or less on a single water meter to be billed Sewer Service Charges(SSCs) based upon private water sub-meter readings.

1. Background information about the program.

2. Points to consider about the benefits and responsibilities of private sub-metering.

3. The necessary steps to install a sub-meter.
 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The City Council has authorized a procedure that allows City of Los Angeles sewer system customers to use data from private water sub-meters in the calculation of their sewer service charges (SSC). The program is totally optional and the customer will bear all costs associated with it.

The program requires that the customer’s plumbing be configured to separate the water distribution lines on the customer’s property which drain to the sewer ("tributary lines") from those which do not drain to the sewer ("non-tributary lines"). In the residential situation, tributary lines serve interior (domestic) uses, and non-tributary lines serve exterior (primarily irrigation) uses. The customer may install the private sub-meter on either the tributary or the non-tributary line. Hose bibbs may remain attached to the tributary line, but no credit against the SSC will be given. Only one (1) sub-meter is allowed per DWP water meter in accordance with Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) Sec.64.41.03(g)3Aii. See the diagram on page 6 for more information.

The SSC system, also known as the winter water use program, bases the SSC upon the lowest average daily delivered water to the premise during the preceding winter rainy season (approximately mid-October to the end of April). This daily average of wastewater generation will be used to determine the customer’s SSC bill throughout the following year (six billing periods). The private sub-meter will substitute actual data for the estimate. Thus, the program should benefit many customers who use a greater than average volume of water for irrigation than for tributary uses.

Since the data from the private sub-meter will provide the best available estimate of the sewage flow generated from a customer’s property, the City‘s base rate of $3.27 per hundred cubic feet (hcf) of sewage flow will be applied to the readings of a private sub-meter (on the tributary line), or the differences between the readings of the Department of Water and Power (DWP) meter and a private sub-meter (on the non-tributary line), to calculate the customer’s SSC bill. The $3.27 per hcf represents the City's cost to treat one hcf of sewage flow. This rate is the same as the SSC rate applied to our customer on the winter water use program.
 

IS THIS PROGRAM BENEFICIAL TO ME?

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For those Sewer Service Charge (SSC) customers that may be considering installing a private water sub-meter in order to decrease their SSC bill, the following guidelines will help you decide if this is the right solution for your property.

I. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PRIVATE SUB-METER PARTICIPANT

The person installing the private water sub-meter must be given this information package to read it carefully before the sub-meter is installed. He/she must determine if your plumbing configuration is appropriate for the installation of this private water sub-meter and that you have the proper meter size.  A licensed plumbing contractor should be consulted on the proper location of the sub-meter and should verify that tributary and non-tributary plumbing is properly segregated.

Please note the following examples are purely examples for illustration purposes only. They are intended to help you decide if this program is beneficial to you. It is not intended to cover every possible SSC case that may arise in the real world.

A. Let us assume a family of three with Ultra-low-flush toilets at their premises. From Table 2 they will theoretically discharge to a sewer 91.98 hcf.

B. Take your lowest consumption (hcf) from a rainy season billing period (October 15 - May 1) and multiply it by six (6) to get annual discharge to the sewer.

• DWP billing period - Water usage on bill
• 04/17/07 - 06/14/07 - 56 hcf
• 02/16/07 - 04/17/07 - 20 hcf
• 12/15/06 - 02/16/07 - 14 hcf14 hcf X 6 billing periods (one year) = 84 hcf
• 10/14/06 - 12/15/06 - 46 hcfADSV = 84 x DWCF (usually about 0.90; for 08/09, 0.88)
• 08/16/06 - 10/14/06 - 89 hcf = 74 hcf (73.9; the DWCF reduces the volume)
• 06/16/06 - 08/16/06 - 108 hcf

C. For cost comparison of the winter water use SSC program with private water sub-metering program, multiply the total amount of water used in one year under both programs by the SSC rate of $3.27.

• SSC under winter water use program:  74 hcf X $3.27 (SSC rate) = $241.89
• SSC under the private sub-metering: 92 hcf (91.98) X $3.27 (SSC rate) = $300.84

$241.89 - $300.84 = - $58.95

E. According to this example, you would have a lower SSC under the winter water use program. Installation of a private water sub-meter would not be advisable.

 

EXAMPLE 2

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A. Let us assume a family of three with Ultra-low-flush toilets at their premises. From Table 2, they will theoretically discharge to sewer 91.98 hcf.

B. Take your lowest consumption (hcf) from a rainy season billing period (October 15 - May 1) and multiply it by six (6) to get annual discharge to the sewer.

• DWP billing period - Water usage on bill
• 04/17/07 - 06/14/07     78 hcf
• 02/16/07 - 04/17/07     44 hcf
• 12/24/06 - 02/16/07     34 hcf34 hcf X 6 billing periods (one year) = 204 hcf
• 10/14/06 - 12/15/06    120 hcfADSV = 204 x DWCF (usually about 0.90; for 07/08, 0.75)
• 08/16/06 - 10/14/06   193 hcf = 153 hcf (153.0; the DWCF reduces the volume)
• 06/16/06 - 08/16/06     97 hcf

C. For cost comparison of the winter water use SSC program with private water sub-metering program, multiply the total amount of water consumption used in one year by the SSC rate of .

• SSC under the winter water use program: 153 hcf X (SSC rate) = $466.65
• SSC under the private sub-metering: 92 hcf (91.98) X (SSC rate) = $280.60

$466.65 - $280.60 = $186.05

E. According to this example, you would have a lower SSC under the private water sub-meter program. Installation of a private water sub meter would probably be advisable.

F. Assume the private water sub-meter and its installation cost is $400. The length of time that it would take you to recover your up-front cost of $400 is calculated as follows:

$400 divided by $186.05 = 2.15 years (or less when the DWCF is greater than 0.75)

Financial Management Division (FMD) can do an investigation, upon written request, to see if you qualily for an adjustment before any money is spent by you to install a private water sub-meter. FMD will require that the customer send a letter that states the basis on which you believe the property qualifies for an adjustment such as water leak, newly planted area, swimming pool refill, vacancy, new customer to DWP, two (2) or more water meters, etc. Also include a copy of the latest DWP bill or bills for the service address. The request for an SSC adjustment must be in writing and sent to: Bureau of Sanitation, Attention: Residential SSC, PO Box 79083, Los Angeles, CA  90079-0083 or fax it to: 213 485-4269.

HOW CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THIS PROGRAM? Top

If you have additional questions, please call the Bureau of Sanitation Financial Management Division at 213 485-2405 or the SSC Hotline at 1 800 540-0952 or 213 473-4181.  You can also visit our web site at http://www.lacitysan.org/fmd/ssc1.htm for additional information.

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¹ You will be buying an approved meter and also save a considerable amount of money by purchasing a private water sub-meter from DWP, including the following:

• The sub-meters sold by DWP have met their accuracy and quality standards.
• The sub-meters have uniform characteristics because they are from the same vendor.
• The City's Department of Building & Safety and DWP's Water Meter Division have thoroughly tested the sub-meters.
• DWP passes on the savings (10% discount on some meters) that it receives from the manufacturer when it purchases the meters in bulk. DWP's meter vendor was selected based on competitive bids to ensure that you receive the best possible price.

	SUMMARY OF
	INSTALLATION OF A	BOS  Services
	PRIVATE WATER SUB-METER	Com'l Sub-Meter
		Res'l Sub-Meter

Obtain the Private Water Sub-Meter information packet from FMD, DBS or DWP*. See links above right.

Read the package and decide if it is to your advantage to install the meter. You may call the SSC Hotline at 1 800 540-0952 or 213 473-4181 for information.
 

1.	DECIDE IF THE METER IS TO BE INSTALLED ON THE DOMESTIC LINE OR THE IRRIGATION LINE. Only one private sub-meter per DWP metered line. See sketch on page 4 of the commercial sub-meter info packet or page 6 of the residential sub-meter info.
2.	OBTAIN PLUMBING PERMIT "FOR PRIVATE WATER SUB-METER" FROM DBS
3.	TAKE PERMIT TO DWP & PURCHASE SUB-METER. Call DWP AT 213 367-2130 for the nearest location to pick up sub-meter.
4.	INSTALL SUB-METER (Only a LICENSED PLUMBER can do installation for non-residential properties).
5.	CALL DBS TO HAVE THE SUB-METER INSTALLATION INSPECTED.

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STEPS CITY DEPARTMENTS MUST COMPLETE

A. DBS WILL INSPECT THE INSTALLATION AND SEND MEMO TO DWP NOTING TYPE A OR B INSTALLATION ON SKETCH. See SSC sub-meter info packet for explanation.

B. DWP WILL MODIFY ACCOUNT TO BILL SSC BASED ON SUB-METER READINGS.

Includes info received from DBS 4/21/99
 

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submtrres     Revised:   7/3/07