All Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) customers will be converted to metered rates in October. TMWA’s Board of Directors voted in May to convert the remaining flat-rate customers to meters.
Flat-rate customers, who were previously grandfathered, were converted to metered rates as home ownership changed, but that changes October 1, 2015 after the TMWA Board voted May 21 to end flat-rates for water usage.
According to reporting by KTVN:
There are 6,000 residents who still use the flat rate form of paying for water. That’s roughly 5% of their total customer base.
“We found that 75% of our customers that are paying a flat rate would either pay the same amount or less on the meter rate,” said (TMWA’s Kim) Mazeres. “Some are just scared to make that change.”
She says putting people on meters can also help with the drought. The average metered residential customer uses half of the amount compared to a flat rate customer.
“Metered customers are paying every month for what they’re using,” said Mazeres. “They see that amount on their bill, and they react to it. They fix their leaks. They fix those problems. If you’re not seeing that amount on your bill every month, you don’t know what’s happening.”
TMWA announced recently that it achieved a 19-percent reduction in water use after a previous request to reduce water usage by 10-percent, a request that still stands given the drought.
