<84> <84> <201E> Ask Larry Archives: Metering and One Meter per Residence Rules. By having only one meter to maintain near the road system, the owner would not be responsible for installing and thereafter maintaining individual lines and meters to each of the dwellings, or for disconnecting and reconnecting each individual units separate water meter. <82> <82> <201A> <00> Hopefully the two figures are the same or within a reasonable margin of error. Email: info@trwa.org, Water University/Utility Management Certification, TCEQ Requirement All Occupational Licensing, Wastewater Technical Assistance & Training Program, Click Here to Return to the Ask Larry Archives Homepage, Metering & One Meter per Residence Rules (Ask Larry). Both of these sections clearly state that an owner of the property to be served is the only person qualified to be a WSC member and that the meter has to be installed on the property designated to be served. Either way, the system has to maintain these higher capacities of well production, storage tanks, pumps, lines and so on, or be fined for non-compliance for violations of 30 TAC Section 290.45 of the TCEQs rules. /Supplement 0 <8F> <8F> <2022> 1 begincodespacerange <8E> <8E> <017D> A: Yes, under Chapter 13 of the Texas Water Code you must provide service to the applicant if the location of the request for service lies within your certificated service area and your utility is privately owned or a nonprofit water supply corporation. According to subchapter D, rule 290.46(s)(1), flow measuring devices and rate-of-flow controllers that are required by 290.42(d) of this title (relating to Water Treatment) shall be calibrated at least once every 12 months. e. The Corporation shall require each Member to have a cutoff valve within 2 feet of the meter on the Members side of the meter for purposes of isolating the Members service pipeline and plumbing facilities from the Corporations water pressure. 1616 Rio Grande The TCEQ rules dont necessarily state that the calibration must take place upon installation but the clock has to start somewhere and the safe option is to calibrate the meter yourself or secure a certificate of accuracy from the meter company. In fact, there are laws about meter tampering, damage and diversion if a person is caught or found guilty of messing with a utilitys meters. TCEQ assesses the adequacy of a systems capacity on the number of connections on that system and takes into account the number and sizes of larger meters on that system. 12 dict begin In the event that the placement ends up being wrong, the PUC would likely side with the owner in a dispute about relocation costs because they would see it as the utility shirking its responsibility to exercise due diligence when it set the meter in the wrong location in the first place. The ERUs would be equivalent to what would be used by typical single-family residences, if they were using the water. The valve shall meet AWWA standards (a ball valve is preferred). Throughout my time at TRWA, I have seen too many systems that have allowed customers to dictate where they wanted their meters to be set. 363 0 obj We want to be fair, but we also want be responsible. startxref There are many points that need to be addressed before agreeing to this offer. A: The property owner may have a single master meter as long as the property is not divided or does not consist of separate tracts of land. hb```m ea>O)~N7vy)20:sLr There is an automatic gate that only works by remote and we do not have access to it. However, the applicant or landowner can request a single master meter if they dont want to re-plumb their entire property to accommodate individual meters. 10. lF3n~m/O]w@_}!.u5Iul,CeA"Wyac. Is this legal or what problems could this create? The sample tariff allows the system to estimate a bill and notify the member of the estimate if meter access is hindered or denied. Our engineer says we need to remove these, as we would be responsible for servicing them, including paying for upgrades, if a customer wants a meter for that box in the future. For example, the provisions of TRWAs Sample Tariff regarding non-standard service include the requirement that the corporation approve the design requirements of the applicants required facilities prior to initiation of a non-standard service contract. However, the only leverage we have is to disconnect service to the convenience store in order to compel the chain restaurant to get a separate meter. 389 0 obj <>stream Turn off all valves connected to the distribution system so that no water leaves the tank during test period. <8A> <8A> <0160> There may be limitations that prevent using the meter when there is an outside water ban or other drought measures are in place. 362 0 obj 0000000586 00000 n A. 0000001312 00000 n <84> <84> <201E> First, the one meter per residence language should be part of your tariff or service policy. We have several customers who have gates at the back of their homes and their homes are built at least 500 feet off the road. The average daily flow for domestic use shall be calculated at the minimum rate of 100 gallons per day per capita (gpdpc) and an Equivalent Residential Connection (ERC) of 2.5 persons per single-family residence and 2.2 persons per multi-family and mobile home units.. There are many different types and uses of wells. The NSF 60 standard is for chemicals used in a water system. We have some meter boxes that do not have a meter as they were either pulled for non-payment or the owner requested them to be removed. Therefore, removing the meter box completely could allow the utility to reduce its total number of connections for purposes of determining the systems necessary capacity. /Ordering (UCS) This is referred to in Section C under the definition of member and proof of ownership, and again in Section E under Rules and Regulations. <9D> <9D> <2022> 0 365 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<826B791C035DF141B5FC102546D7A1A5>]/Index[339 51]/Info 338 0 R/Length 113/Prev 168287/Root 340 0 R/Size 390/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream Back in 2004, TRWA staff met with TCEQ to discuss several issues relating to their capacity regulations and interpretations. 0000001032 00000 n If the customer still feels that the meter belongs to her then it may be helpful to give her the phone number to the PUC so she can discuss her concerns. <00> Until Saturday there was a higher level called "very high-risk area where there is a variant of concern" but that category . In the case of choosing a meter read system, we suggest that the meter supplier provide you with a list of systems that uses their meters so your system can check out the pros and cons with other systems that are using the meters. Master District that constitutes an Equivalent Single Family Connection, which amount may be changed from time to time. Q: Can a WSC allow a homeowner to have an additional meter for the sole purpose of running the sprinkler system for their lawn and landscape? Do I need to calibrate the meter? /CMapName /Helvetica-ObliqueOPBaseFont5 def While the board of directors is keeping the old monthly charges and rates, we only have a base rate for 1 -inch meters. All connections shall be calculated based upon its equivalency to a customary Equivalent Single Family Connection using the City of Houston's equivalency table. Getting customers to understand is sometimes challenging. described above, SWWC currently supplies water to at least 5,465 active LUEs (i.e., single-2 Living Unit Equivalents (LUEs). xb```a``Jc`f`ed@ Ar,8-O00/2\B;wOg`Xl_SKl}w>5">%QPH2F50e00,c 5RJf5v zn ' +\AF> 0000002770 00000 n Hopefully this will help address the customers concerns. ]BA Y,bps`>x/@HnqXNZ1yek5Fq8:^bV_W =.*'&0Y5E4oUpcbT6P,SkV/ lliF7LEM]AgDtC,a]oaF![Oi0 qy}>XPN&:VYCp>F0 " #9: "We're already listed as very high risk. <8A> <8A> <0160> Q: We are revising our tariff. Q: We have a convenience store and a chain restaurant using the same meter. fA=~0xO}wASICHzKnp[o 4Ct?3,RPapG}=>V"vIzJ*m'_ /CIDSystemInfo There is nothing in TCEQs Chapter 290 regulations which addresses the above scenario dealing with pre-existing taps that have been removed. Define Equivalent Single-Family Connection. The impact fee and other front-end capital improvement fees also remain with the existing tap and location and should never be transferred to another property for the same reasons above. This has an added benefit that the customers will be required to maintain their own service lines from the meter to their houses. endstream endobj startxref 0000000015 00000 n %%EOF Does the owner have the choice of either getting a meter for each unit or getting one master meter? A licensed operator of a water system can calibrate their own master meters regardless of size or type by using the volumetric calibration method. <96> <97> <2013> <8D> <8D> <2022> g MLu]VxcN[4wosYpe$C4-`#`:euD=G)\IGiuu}o\2kr%Scw#LBSkEkG=] i"a8S7EB=w=N @0A2@p0@T!EQL& L Aa0w"[!-Si7qH>D Going back to my earlier example, if a current customer wanted a new meter placed at the end of a road a 1/2 mile past the end of the existing water line, that new customer should pay their costs for extending that line and not have that cost be paid for by the rest of the members. Until they can do that, they dont get a meter. Can you help me out with this? G{|(> 7 a@0VZ F8A8!@!af^""""#o^?l2AD 4i5M=n^/#{B^m^m}5ok8M4M0P aj""# This is a hard line for systems to take, but otherwise you are operating on an honor system in which the applicant has little incentive to uphold his or her end of the bargain. One ESFC is defined as equaling a typical detached single-family house. This standard specifies that all chemicals used properly will not cause any health effects for the consumers. or ESFC- shall mean the amount of capacity allocated to a commercial customer expressed in terms of the amount of capacity used by a single-family residence, as determined by the volume and type of wastewater discharge. In that case, the system may need to check the hot water heater to see if it has water in it or, as stated above, have the customer demonstrate that water in the second dwelling is from another source and not a water hose from the first house. %%EOF %OEG+HqH\9-:Y2=Ht),h1#d W% `9B-eR+0 endstream endobj 79 0 obj[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] endobj 80 0 obj<>/Width 2550/Height 3300/BitsPerComponent 1/ColorSpace/DeviceGray/Type/XObject/Name/background_1/Subtype/Image>>stream 0000006249 00000 n connection (living unit equivalent) that for the purposes of this Amended Agreement shall be Six Hundred Fifty Afo/.# G(omQb#\9 TRWA suggests that systems tell their customers to add the cost of their meter and impact fee to the cost of their property before they sell in order to fund installing another meter at their new location. {Y 9w,r, 6Q@4Og)nF9c"|A""?__ovt^o_dM`L2,s54#Pj0 0000001388 00000 n The result is an estimate of total Think of it this way: what if that property owner was requesting not one meter, but four new ones? H_w"'i.wF%P)O However, TCEQs 2019 guidance on determining the number of connections served by public water systems defines active connection to include any connection that has the capacity to receive water, even if there is no customer currently receiving water service there. <09> <0A> <0009> You should review this situation with your engineers. The capacity requirement is driven, in part, by the maximum potential amount of water that could be pushed through that meter on a peak day. Wouldnt it make sense for the owner to have to pay the cost of extending the line(s) out to those structures? A: The answer is yes, its not only ethical, its also both fair and necessary. For example, the Service Rules and Regulations of the TRWA Sample Tariff, Section E, states: An apartment building, condominium, manufactured housing (modular, mobile or RV) community, business center or other similar type enterprise may be considered by the Corporation to be a single commercial facility if the owner applies for a meter as a 'master metered account' and complies with the requirements set forth in PUC rules, this Tariff and applicable law. TRWAs Sample Tariff, Section B provides additional detail, requiring compliance with PUC, Chapter 24, Subchapter H rules pertaining to submetering. One requirement under PUC rules is that the owner who intends to bill tenants for sub-metered or allocated utility service or who changes the method used to bill tenants for utility service must register with the PUC in a form prescribed by the commission. <86> <87> <2020> The District is subject to the continuing supervision of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (the "TCEQ"). endobj <0D> <0D> <000D> developed and used to calculate the Impact Fee per Equivalent Single Family Connection (ESFC). What can we do if the owner of the membership denies that someone is living at the second residence? 0000000766 00000 n Some systems do require individual meters to each different apartment, condo or other type business that is all owned by one individual or company. startxref Setting the meter on the property owned by the applicant is always the best policy. Published in July/August 2020 (Issue 4 of Quench). There also is a section in the Service Application and Agreement form RUS-TX Bulletin 1780-9 (05/17) that states: All water shall be metered by meters to be furnished and installed by the Corporation. <7F> <7F> <2022> <90> <90> <2022> <9C> <9C> <0153> <98> <98> <02DC> It is never a good idea to set a meter at one residence with a yard or service line running across the property to the next active connection. Using the formula 3.14 X Radius X Radius X Height X 7.48 (gallons per cubic feet) you can calculate the number of gallons of water added to the storage tank. Over the past year Ive talked to at least a dozen systems with existing AMR meters who are upgrading or replacing them due to older meter batteries not holding up. Your board should look at all the different access related issues at customer locations and define in your tariff what the system considers to be reasonable access to the meters. Not all the time, but it is usually pretty accurate unless another deed or court decree has been issued since the countys records were last updated. Q: A current member of our WSC has asked for a second meter on their property. <8E> <8E> <017D> <8B> <8B> <2039> 0000002157 00000 n A: TCEQ rule 290.44(a)(4) explains the purpose of the rule stating: Each community public water system shall provide accurate metering devices at each residential, commercial or industrial service connection for the accumulation of water usage data. This ensures that the water system can document that customers are being billed properly. My question is what is considered access? <<9e8032b06c2c514a87349e8822134d26>]>> <8C> <8C> <0152> <> The extra 15 percent capacity is supposed to be maintained by the system (not paid for by the new customer), but the system may require applicants requesting service to pay for some of the system upgrades that will be used by that applicant. Institutional 4. I have visited several systems who have purchased AMR meters that are compatible with the AMI meters. << Well meters required by 290.41(c)(3)(N) of this title (relating to Water Sources) shall be calibrated at least once every three years.. Further, in the past we have seen many TCEQ investigators count dead taps into the systems overall capacity requirements using the assumption that at any time in the future the system would still be responsible for supplying not only the active connections but previously existing connections also. It is best to work with your customers so that a reasonable solution can be found. The closest thing we have to a bottom line here is that a system can remove the meter, but they still need to maintain capacity at that same location in case a future applicant wants to re-install another water meter there. Present Ave. Daily Flow (B 6 + B 7 ) Single family - include all single family homes, mobile homes and seasonal dwellings in this category. pc#P3C"!GB448]o_ AtCCk*AC)ADc90cLrU endstream endobj 4 0 obj<>stream 3 The Blue ater Contract defines a "LUE" as the capacity necessary to serve a single-family residential . endcmap Re: US travelers connecting in AMS what are the rules now? Published in May/June 2020 (Issue 3 of Quench). U0!_bU2S'vB9{h7UM;y>F]6]>_]I;j]R_}I/l Save. I1Aq sa:VAza:o ~6_9d23\@GfqQ H4o?a Z}*B"E}I"}}-}oKk$D%+M?AGPf!Sn$_ WzIj&?K/GrwkIL ( kZPiu-Jbg\N2A;$_J|MS[t7P]"nSx}tcGl>^ZKeKH^ZURCZjVAiU&6mvTAl/wDXIvS-U*Kv[GAWBk'3TnM(u"wP4n": $ ZJ[$+n4b=J}}0_LWjcF;0kc.#1I-u}'[{W}$LSKUnUKI.DW~mR^Np voZNL*aAnh^Xo;kji,5]4>Q/ZhB4cq: TuMBv;M8OPhFGDDDDE_k#[vD4 Dr(~[uk_w~'oa_}2;WdASMS aA aV* 8IxFDDDDD_B""#__O &FF#0B>"(4#c3h*E/#!!80 "Df"qdp%_d$vHf -Uyxn/dqHGci|GE800f:(F/GG0xG#xx DDD-p0 71 0 obj<>stream For example, in Section E, Members Responsibility: d. Therefore, all water usage registering upon and/or damages occurring to the metering equipment owned and maintained by the Corporation shall be subject to charges as determined by the Corporations Tariff as amended from time to time by the Board of Directors. 69 12 HT >> def Q: Our system is replacing all of our meters. The short answer is yes, the WSC/district board can change their tariff/service policy to allow for meters to be set on someone elses property. These previously existing meter locations had already paid for or been granted capacity from the water main, and therefore they should not be required to pay for system upgrades. The quadplexes were built in 2006 and are not located within the boundaries of a city. We would like to have the chain restaurant apply for and install a meter since the convenience store has a meter and active account. CMapName currentdict /CMap defineresource pop V)bXAmXki65[I47l0B]jU6)ILRn64-7ZvJ"I7LTaTm,XMU0 aBa h5]A"BxV`fNX6:aRVi"Db03iT+P0MDDCDDDD/tL~~1"g43B6GA_628PL&hi$(pD=-RqGqSA$A%py>$kK/. \\~;XBM?!GIjM_% ]$N6+ A;#-^V_J_K_Z!m?oW16d pzpDu@N_D}v54}aM,7=?9?rIh:O7U`BVM[np`&6+mC-Ot6)Rz 6+VM?mHAMA5i }l& <96> <97> <2013> Systems generally dont want to extend their liability onto or across private property to read meters or make repairs after dark within a private property on the off chance that frequent trips onto that property raises the chance of some type of accident or damage to the owners property or tenants. <002D> 0000036396 00000 n Some of this cost will be paid by these new customers once they start paying their monthly water bill, but the previous customers not only have been paying for what it costs for them to receive water delivered to their homes, they have also been paying a bit extra toward the complete debt-service for all existing capacity. The system needs to be aware of the potential liability issues with such an arrangement and should contact the systems insurance provider to find out what, if anything, would be covered if the person is injured while reading meters or causes an accident or damages some customers property. 1 year ago. These existing capacity components were and are being paid for through monthly water rates. Billable flow (B 1 + B 5) 7. <91> <92> <2018> Where is the middle ground here? Check to be sure these references are included in your tariff and if so, the member would be prohibited from extending service from one side of the road/alley or across a property line to provide service to a neighbors property not designated to receive service according to your tariff. u6hhOk\GhExG-GMYsjYQC\+8*w}ap|B"[C>B\`y[%s*H X[S.3Sj_S\Z'e5TsAd D>~/mOJ>hnm={^hcb(T-C2bm4M"#Zg7;qqFY(kG1jCA XZ0SRpnNN7aQR7.LX*VAT\pPx(aPs R02 includes a pool and lawn and landscape irrigation of the lot as long as there is no separate irrigation meter. Q. Your tariff should include the requirements for evaluating an application for a master meter. <8B> <8B> <2039> Some meter manufacturers also require strainers or other devices to be installed to protect the meter and straighten or condition the water so that their meters will be as accurate as possible. To Top. <9E> <9E> <017E> LIVING UNIT EQUIVALENT (LUE) GUIDANCE DOCUMENT Definition: A living unit equivalent (LUE) is defined as the typical flow that would be produced by a single family residence located in a typical subdivision. Then a straight run of pipe at least three times the diameter of the pipe after the meter. Usually, the original person that is allowing the other persons meter to be installed on their property (the front property owner) is agreeable and welcomes the chance to help their neighbor (the back property owner) save some money. TRWA does not recommend any product, supplier or person and leaves that decision up to each system. /Supplement 0 <0D> <0D> <000D> (This cut-off valve may be installed as a part of the original meter installation by the Corporation.). 36 beginbfrange PUC rules also specify the requirements for language that must be included in the rental agreement regarding submetering, how the charges are to be calculated and how billing is to be conducted. The customer says there is a gate at the back of his property (more than 500 feet away). <83> <83> <0192> If your 1.5 inch line is already overloaded, then the WSC is responsible for paying for the difference in costs from a two inch line to serve the single applicant to the 6 inch line your engineers say is required to install. My question is, how do we verify the boundaries of properties for this purpose? 9CT This can lead to lawsuits and fights between neighbors and family members, and often the utility ends up bearing the brunt of these clashes. -tjOXWIR-9L#|qAH)=ya[AXO>_u 9U]](M:?`^V a/X`jsV60;aC}18Y_{/c%nmVlf.0FVL Google Map, Tel: 512.472.8591 0000005203 00000 n Next, the system may want to offer a compliance schedule so that service will not be interrupted during the construction and installation of a second meter on the property designated to receive service.. Amstelveen is a leafy, prosperous, family-oriented suburb close to Amsterdam, which has a growing population of international residents. Customers that do not report multiple connections, causing utility employees to have to investigate the matter, are usually denied these waivers. What should we do? <91> <92> <2018> for the single-family residential customer group. A: You have a couple different issues to address. Most manufacturers suggest straight runs of pipe ahead of and following a master meter. << How should this be handled? A: In the TRWA Sample Tariff, as well as in the USDA-RD Service Application and Agreement Form, it states that a meter shall be installed on a property to serve that single property and water cannot be diverted to another property.