Do You Know How Much Water You Use?
The Goleta Water District now provides free submeters to qualifying customers who agree to install them. If you have a separate guesthouse, “granny flat,” or even a pool house, a submeter can assist property owners in their conservation efforts, particularly for situations involving tenants on smaller residential lots.
Studies have shown that customers use water more efficiently if they have information related to how much water they use and the associated costs. A 2004 study funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) demonstrated water savings of 15.3% when comparing submetered multi-family residences to non-submetered multi-family residences.[1] The potential difference between submetered and non-submetered water use is further illustrated by a survey of Los Angeles apartment owners. The survey revealed that where tenants did not have individual information about their water use, 86% of tenants used the same or more water after Gov. Brown ordered statewide reductions in urban water use.[2] Individually metering buildings can achieve energy and water efficiency improvements of 10-20%.
Looking to typical annual savings, installing a submeter on a second unit with tenants could conserve 7 HCF per year (assuming average monthly use of 4 HCF per second unit).
For more information, or to apply to the program, click here.
[1] National Multiple Family Submetering and Allocation Billing Program Study: http://www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=704
[2] “There’s little incentive for L.A. renters to take shorter showers”:
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-apartments-water-20150726-story.html
