I have visited several systems who have purchased AMR meters that are compatible with the AMI meters. They summarized that because there had been a meter at that location, the new applicant should not be responsible to pay for upgrades to the water mains because of new customers being added at other locations along that same water main. The TCEQ interprets an "active connection" as a connection that is completed or existing and able to supply drinking water from the PWS to a single-family <82> <82> <201A> <85> <85> <2026> IQ-EQ | 110,749 followers on LinkedIn. 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. An eight-inch (8") water main will generally be required to distribute water and provide fire protection within the multi-family district provided that the water main does not exceed 600 feet in length or serve more than two PDF Developer's Bond Application Report Format - Texas Commission on <81> <81> <2022> A: The answer is yes, its not only ethical, its also both fair and necessary. 36 beginbfrange 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. endcodespacerange /Linearized 1.0/O 364/H [ 766 341 ]/L 852074/E 53543/N 18/T 844716>> Others were due to leaks grounding out meters. <82> <82> <201A> 0 <20> <7E> <0020> This is the back property customers responsibility. end hb```m ea>O)~N7vy)20:sLr 374 0 obj Examples of Equivalent Residential Connection in a sentence. 0000001445 00000 n While it may be difficult for them to claim the second dwelling is vacant if evidence of habitation is obvious, some people might try to claim that the habitation is only intermittent, that no water is being used at the second location, or that water there is being supplied from a separate source. If a member purchases land other than where the original meter was installed, according to the TRWA Sample Tariff language, they have to transfer the membership to the new property owner and leave the meter in place. 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. 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. <0D> <0D> <000D> <83> <83> <0192> With regard to your 1.5 inch line, please note that the TCEQ Chapter 290 Rules state that a 2 inch main line size is the minimum to be installed on any public water system. A: This is a common question. Unless a local governmental authority requires otherwise, or unless otherwise established, an ESFC is defined as 360 gallons per day for average water usage and 300 gpd for average wastewater return flow. When a system sees that there is inequity in their current rate structure causing some customers to subsidize the water usage and capacity requirements for other customers, the board ought to rectify the situation by amending rates. This certificate should meet the TCEQ master meter test requirements for initial installation of the meter. <9F> <9F> <0178> The valve shall meet AWWA standards (a ball valve is preferred). This can lead to lawsuits and fights between neighbors and family members, and often the utility ends up bearing the brunt of these clashes. My question is what is considered access? 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. What should we do with these boxes? Q: We have been made aware of a customer who has installed an inline booster pump on their side of the meter. Google Map, Tel: 512.472.8591 Q: How does a person with multiple mobile homes become a master-metered account? Can you help me out with this? endbfrange Texas Water Code Sec. <93> <94> <201C> begincmap IN ADDITION - sos.texas.gov Any correspondence you send to this regard should include a deadline for the customers to contact the system to set up a CSI so the utility can verify whether any prohibited interconnection between the two dwellings exists. This only works for meter reading and does not solve the issue of access for repairs and emergencies. IQ-EQ | LinkedIn Published in January/February 2020 (Issue 1 of Quench). 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.. In this case, applicants pay for what is necessary to provide them with their individual service, including his or her part of line upgrades, wells, tanks or treatment capacities before receiving service or entering into a service contract; the system pays for any facility capacity in excess of what the individual needs. Q: Our system is replacing all of our meters. endcmap 0000002796 00000 n But the continued headaches and future problems will not be worth the bad public relations this can cause if anything happens to the service line or meter that is on someone elses property. The CSI inspector should make a note on the CSI form stating that the well has been completely disconnected from all the potable water lines serving the dwelling units. Even if the customer would only need standard service, TRWAs Sample Tariff includes the requirement that the property of the applicant/ member shall be inspected to ensure compliance with state required Minimum Acceptable Operating Practices for Public Drinking Water Systems as promulgated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) or successor agency. The corporation will disconnect without notice if the member refuses to allow access for the purpose of confirming the existence of such condition and/or removing the dangerous or hazardous condition (30 TAC 290.46(i) and 290.46(j)). R02 - Single Family House (larger than 5/8 " meter). <9F> <9F> <0178> Climb the tank and use a steel measuring tape to measure the height of water in the tank to the manway. 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. end <8D> <8D> <2022> "!#w~[^Mt__^7ea?VU> {9Vh*A!_Q~" [w|V}.f%z[o~di_Yzbb{[Xu]\*lq& 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. I told her that was incorrect and that I would mail her the documentation to prove it. Also do you have any recommendations for a particular meter read system? <84> <84> <201E> 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. 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. 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. It appears they have done this to supply water to more than 60 small rental homes on two 5/8 x 3/4 meters. <8A> <8A> <0160> 0000001107 00000 n Our employees drive around the community daily and can tell that there are clearly people living at these second residences. There are many points that need to be addressed before agreeing to this offer. A water well is a hole drilled into an aquifer with a pipe, screen, and pump to pull water out of the ground. One of these meters is on a 1"water main line and the other meter on a 1 1/2 water main line. 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. <7F> <7F> <2022> <00> 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. This has an added benefit that the customers will be required to maintain their own service lines from the meter to their houses. <8C> <8C> <0152> If the main water line(s) are near the public roads, then the system may offer to move the meter down to the road. Would a hose running across the potential users property, across the alleyway, and across about 10 feet of the members property be allowed? 69 12 You should always keep the safety of your employees in mind and act within the law. 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. Other systems are installing AMR Meters for the first time, installing AMR Meters in high density or high-traffic areas or upgrading to AMI meters. PDF Control Number: 51166 - Texas 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. /CMapType 2 def -C BiOUuI jL33Vl4N2ZMA z&;~^*9KDzBW~Q(p7rp>dIi=7}%I~y[$+q_3i-#yzqwTxj/,Rz@S| (~x@dn It doesnt matter whether the extra capacity is used to supply brand new customers who have never had service or to existing customers seeking an additional meter. <98> <98> <02DC> The result is an estimate of total <96> <97> <2013> You could also require the applicant to provide this information as part of the application process. %PDF-1.7 ]*U}%GikLf!=ZpcC[RqHL The original members account should be closed out at the old address. If your system already has this language, then TRWA suggests that systems that have several multiple connection issues send out a letter informing all customers of pending changes or stepped up enforcement of existing policies. /CIDInit /ProcSet findresource begin Additionally, many systems didnt want to maintain extended meters and lines within the private property, because in several cases working on these lines proved too intrusive on peoples private property and roads. endbfrange <90> <90> <2022> startxref to TCEQ rules regarding elevated storage, the number of connections that are allocated to the tract will be four, because that allocation is determined on the number of meter connections. TRWA recommends that systems stop floating memberships and meters from one property to another because of the confusion it creates. Should not effect transit. A4INih9'uC0\!a;OKx[TJ2 7Kie V)bXAmXki65[I47l0B]jU6)ILRn64-7ZvJ"I7LTaTm,XMU0 aBa h5]A"BxV`fNX6:aRVi"Db03iT+P0MDDCDDDD/tL~~1"g43B6GA_628PL&hi$(pD=-RqGqSA$A%py>$kK/. US travelers connecting in AMS what are the rules now? 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. 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. First, the customer must supply the system a final plat showing the intended use and ultimate development of the property to be served. For water requirements, this includes consumptive uses, such as lawn First, the one meter per residence language should be part of your tariff or service policy. ~0r; The normal benefit to the applicant and the system is that the applicant/landowner can design their own water system within their property and not have to worry about multiple meters and which service lines goes to which office or trailer space. <93> <94> <201C> 8P_zz[__z-os%DtGDrJb"" )A CONTACT 1002 Washington Ave., 3rd floor Houston, TX 77002 832.394.8888 wcrtechs@houstontx.gov 8 am to 3 pm Wastewater Capacity Reservation Letter - Wastewater You, the property owner or authorized agent, must apply for a Wastewater Capacity Reservation letter if you are: Wastewater Capacity Reservation Letter - Water