AWWA SOURCES55635

Submetering is popular with property managers since it allows them to bill tenants for water, but the question remains whether it saves enough water to justify its promotion or subsidy by the water utility. In theory, submetering should generate significant water savings as water users pay for--and thus monitor--their water consumption. More data are needed, however, to quantify the precise savings available from this strategy, especially for indoor use by multi-family customers. This paper reports savings of seven and twelve percent in a pilot study of two mobile home communities in the service area of the Las Vegas Valley Water District. On an annual basis these represented a total savings of 4,056 kgal (12.4 acre-feet) from 388 single-family households, or 10 kgal per household. Cost data for the installations were collected to help evaluate the program economics. The savings came primarily from changes in usage of the metered customers, including repairing of leaks and changes in discretionary domestic water use. Since both communities had previously participated in retrofit programs these savings are probably conservative in predicting for a larger population, which had not been part of a retrofit program. The experience at one of the communities (Flamingo West) indicates that addressing common area usage and leakage from the distribution systems may yield water savings, but the submetering program has not, to date, triggered management action at the park. Includes tables, figures.