Information for people who receive OWASA water and sewer service but receive monthly bills from a private company
When multi-family property owners may bill residents for water and sewer services
Choice of master meters versus individual OWASA meters
Private submetering
NC Utilities Commission’s review and approval of rates for private bills
Conservation and submetering
For more information
When multi-family property owners may bill resdents for water and sewer services
Under North Carolina law, and subject to approval by the NC Utilities Commission, apartment complex owners and others may bill residents to recover the cost of receiving water and sewer service from OWASA. Following is an overview of State-approved private billing arrangements.
The choice of master meters versus individual OWASA meters
OWASA gives owners of multi-family developments two choices of how to be billed for water and sewer services:
1. OWASA may install a "master" meter or meters to serve the multi-family building(s). (OWASA would then send monthly bills to the property owner or management company.) Or
2. OWASA may install individual water meters to serve each residence, and OWASA would then send monthly bills directly to each resident.
The cost of installing OWASA master meters is less than the cost of installing a large number of individual OWASA meters. Therefore, many of the multi-family neighborhoods in Chapel Hill and Carrboro receive service through “master” meters rather than individual meters serving each residential unit.
(Similarly, many commercial and office developments are served through master meters instead of individual meters for each tenant/business.)
For a location served with a master meter, OWASA sends monthly water and sewer bills only to the multi-family property owner or manager. The property owner or manager may then pass on these costs to residents under State rules as noted above.
Private “submetering”
In accord with State law, and with approval of the NC Utilities Commission, the owners of multi-family developments with OWASA master meters may also install private meters, or “submeters,” to measure and bill for water and sewer services to each residence in the development. This is an increasing trend in the OWASA service area.
Please click here to see a list of more than 30 multi-family developments where residents receive private bills rather than an OWASA bill. This list represents the information available from the NC Utilities Commission as of April, 2012.
The list includes a “Docket Number” assigned by the NC Utilities Commission. By going to the Commission’s website at http://ncuc.commerce.state.nc.us/docksrch.html, you can enter the Docket Number and access the specific supporting information regarding the submetering billing arrangements for the applicable multi-family development. When you enter the Docket Number, please be sure to check the “Include Closed Proceedings” box.
NC Utilities Commission's review and approval of rates for private water and sewer bills
At submetered locations, the property owner/manage (or a company hired by the owner/manager) may privately bill the residents in each unit at rates approved by the NC Utilities Commission.
Under the Utilities Commission’s rules (which can be viewed at http://www.ncuc.net/ncrules/Chapter18.pdf), the property owner can pass through the per unit share of OWASA’s fixed monthly charges and may add an administrative fee up to $3.75 per dwelling unit to cover their costs for submeter reading, billing, and collection. The property owner can also bill the residents for the volume of water and sewer service received (as measured through the submeter serving an individual residence). However, the volume of water/sewer use must be billed at the rates charged by OWASA.
OWASA’s bills to the property owner/manager include fixed monthly charges for reading meters, preparing/mailing bills and periodic meter/pipe replacement. Therefore, a private bill for a submetered residence may show a fixed monthly charge that includes both the $3.75 administrative fee allowed by the Utilities Commission, and a share of OWASA’s fixed monthly charges for the property.
OWASA has no authority over the rates that property owners/managers submit to the Utilities Commission.
Water conservation and submetering
National studies have shown that submetering can be an effective conservation measure. The National Multiple Family Submetering and Allocation Billing Program Study (to read the Executive Summary, please click here) reported that submetering achieved statistically significant water savings of 15.3 percent (21.8 gallons/day/unit) compared with traditional master-metered rental properties.
For more information
From OWASA: Greg Feller, Public Affairs, 919-537-4267 or gfeller@owasa.org
From Public Staff to the NC Utilities Commission – Water, Sewer & Transportation Operations Division: Ron Brown, 919-733-0845 or brown@ncuc.net