tceq equivalent single family connection tceq equivalent single family connection

The system is not responsible for securing or requiring an easement for any service line from the meter to the ultimate customers home. As an example, the number of service connections in an apartment complex would be equal to the number of individual apartment units. This certificate should meet the TCEQ master meter test requirements for initial installation of the meter. It appears they have done this to supply water to more than 60 small rental homes on two 5/8 x 3/4 meters. o0?LgGt{Cifk_Kat2'~ez{*R,r08e0@Bf1+oxG t%&L!XD(gTn6"LXa9t> ~0r; The regulations of the Public Utility Commission also make clear in Section 24.163(a)(2)(A) & (B)that the system is responsible to furnish and install, for the purpose of connecting its distribution system to the service applicants property, the service pipe from its main to the meter on the service applicants property. Ownership of meters by the retail public utility, whether a district, WSC, city or privately owned system, is essential to the ability of the utility to effectively comply with its regulatory obligations. 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. 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. The correspondence should also include a date on which service will be disconnected if the customer fails to make arrangements for the CSI. Q: One of our members has offered to read meters each month for free. 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. 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. << 362 13 HWn8}7vR}\d.P`! 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. 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? Some engineers and systems took this to mean that if we remove the meters at these dormant locations, the system would not have to charge future new customers the price for upgrading their old water mains until the freed-up capacity was allocated to new active connections. 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. TCEQs Chapter 290 requires a meter to accurately determine the usage of each customer unless a master metering arrangement has been made. 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. The base rates for larger meters should be set to pay for these larger required capacities instead of making the customers with standard size meters subsidize the customers with bigger meters that place more demand costs on the system. n``N}@:\_EF-_*p"X;9$W'}',vl#A7.9J uph%(+u n'8i b9XAH03047:|clf`. Google Map, Tel: 512.472.8591 <9D> <9D> <2022> 0000006201 00000 n Different growth /CMapType 2 def Requiring employees to climb ladders to get over fences or traverse 500 feet of property may not be reasonable access for your system and could be considered denial of access. First, the customer must supply the system a final plat showing the intended use and ultimate development of the property to be served. For example, the Service Rules and Regulations of the TRWA Sample Tariff, Section E, states: An apartment building, condominium, manufactured housing (modular, mobile or RV) community, business center or other similar type enterprise may be considered by the Corporation to be a single commercial facility if the owner applies for a meter as a 'master metered account' and complies with the requirements set forth in PUC rules, this Tariff and applicable law. TRWAs Sample Tariff, Section B provides additional detail, requiring compliance with PUC, Chapter 24, Subchapter H rules pertaining to submetering. One requirement under PUC rules is that the owner who intends to bill tenants for sub-metered or allocated utility service or who changes the method used to bill tenants for utility service must register with the PUC in a form prescribed by the commission. <84> <84> <201E> Know how, know you | We are IQ-EQ, a leading investor services group employing 4300+ people across 24 jurisdictions worldwide. Some folks opt for wells of around 300 gallons per minute or less to use a fire truck or tanker instead of climbing an elevated tank to do the measuring twice. A: Yes, under Chapter 13 of the Texas Water Code you must provide service to the applicant if the location of the request for service lies within your certificated service area and your utility is privately owned or a nonprofit water supply corporation. E8EVW:?m^_io~Kk^cQ"_fT"KMB!_ou ]oI_1QdpuOK_-21qWa;_?oN>?/]kD_I'XA_:4}]BhSl'~CA+u_;( m!QVa 8B*t6)(" L-6+$k "gbDF}/?# DWH&J_F#'2,dLj aPh0M0chw&H&; B,"m&_l/@^t\[O;H$w'p!;&C. endstream endobj 75 0 obj<>/BaseFont/Times-Roman/FirstChar 0/LastChar 255/Subtype/Type1/ToUnicode 76 0 R/Widths[0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 250 340 410 500 500 840 785 185 340 340 500 560 250 340 250 290 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 290 290 565 565 565 440 925 720 670 670 725 610 555 720 720 335 390 725 615 880 720 720 560 720 665 555 605 715 715 945 725 725 610 335 275 335 475 500 330 450 500 450 500 450 340 500 500 275 275 500 275 775 500 500 500 500 340 390 285 500 500 720 500 500 450 490 200 490 550 350 500 350 340 500 450 1000 500 500 340 1000 565 340 890 350 610 350 350 340 340 445 445 350 500 1000 340 990 390 340 730 350 450 730 250 340 500 500 500 500 210 500 340 770 280 500 570 340 770 340 410 570 300 300 340 510 460 250 340 300 310 500 750 750 750 445 720 720 720 720 720 720 885 675 615 615 615 615 340 340 340 340 720 720 720 720 720 720 720 565 720 720 720 720 720 720 560 500 450 450 450 450 450 450 670 450 450 450 450 450 280 280 280 280 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 565 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500]>> endobj 76 0 obj<>stream endcodespacerange 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. Language establishing the utilitys ownership of customer service meters runs throughout TRWAs model tariffs and service policies. Our system is more than 40 years old and there are about 20 properties that have more than one residence on a single meter. <93> <94> <201C> Then, once the system reaches 100 percent capacity, that system should begin constructing these new facilities to replace or build that extra 15 percent or more back into their system for future growth. Even a temporary hose hook-up is prohibited since that is a violation of the conditions found in your customer service application and agreement. 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. Id like to offer an observation though, based on the information from the TRWA Sample Tariff. If your engineer has not approved the use of the booster pump or sized the lines and meters to accommodate the 60 rental homes, the customer is not in compliance with the terms of the agreement and your tariff. These existing capacity components were and are being paid for through monthly water rates. Also do you have any recommendations for a particular meter read system? Back in 2004, TRWA staff met with TCEQ to discuss several issues relating to their capacity regulations and interpretations. <20> <7E> <0020> We have been mostly going by the word of individual landowners, which has recently resulted in us finding out that some of our meters were not correctly located. The member wants to know if a neighbor can hook up to the meter and if so, under what circumstances. The valve shall meet AWWA standards (a ball valve is preferred). Now climb the tank again after the well pump is stopped and measure the height of water again at the manway. %%EOF I am not aware of any legal or state regulations that would prohibit this, but I caution your board to look at every conceivable contingency and try to address them before agreeing to this free meter reading offer. %OEG+HqH\9-:Y2=Ht),h1#d W% `9B-eR+0 These references clearly state that the meter belongs to the corporation and is to be maintained by the corporation. The customer does not own the meter just like the customer doesnt own the electric meter or gas meter, even though they have to pay all costs for these other metering devices to be installed. For years, many rural and municipal systems have opted to install master meters for rental properties such as multiple apartment buildings on the same tract of land, multiple mobile homes or manufactured homes on the same tract of land, as well as multiple RVs or strip/multi-use business centers with a common owner. First, the one meter per residence language should be part of your tariff or service policy. end "Equivalent residential units" or "ERU" is a unit of measurement based upon a standard single-family residential home used to establish rates, fees and charges and volume capacity limits. After you establish a system's ERU quantity, you can use it to determine the number of ERUs for other types of service connections. Based on the level and manner of service being requested by the owner, a 2-inch water meter may or may not be sufficient to provide the water capacity being requested. endcmap Any damage to the Corporations equipment shall be subject to service charges. The inspector would also check for chlorine residuals at any location which the customer says is being supplied water from a private well or other source. Service will be restored when a CSI confirms no health hazard exists, the health hazard has been removed or repaired, or the health hazard has been isolated from the corporations water system. The member knows that resale of the water for a profit is not allowed. <7F> <7F> <2022> w;A`@3YceL 0a0DD8T#_ _~qd"D|%U0 a`q]HEWls!G29h4 Then a straight run of pipe at least three times the diameter of the pipe after the meter. Systems are not required to do expensive title searches, but they should require applicants for service to provide a legal deed or ownership proof showing that the person applying for water or sewer service owns that tract of land. A: This is a common problem for older systems as they try to come into compliance with newer rules. A: The TRWA Sample Tariff states that a meter is to be set on the property designed to receive service and the owner of the property has to be the member of the corporation. How should this be handled? Based on my experience, a great number of systems opt to have a single meter properly sized to meet the service needs requested by the owner instead of having multiple smaller master meters or even individual meters for each apartment. hbbd``b`+A| "[@@ebX H0X "$k $BG HI (,HW *##6F0 w <88> <88> <02C6> The most immediate issue to address is the potential health hazard caused by the loss of pressure when the booster pump kicks on. Afo/.# G(omQb#\9 Again, this is an insurance issue to address with your insurance carrier. 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. described above, SWWC currently supplies water to at least 5,465 active LUEs (i.e., single-2 Living Unit Equivalents (LUEs). Q: How important is the NSF 60 certification on meters or does it even matter? 0000002966 00000 n The date of construction is not relevant to the issue of whether a single master meter or individual meters would be preferable; however, it is important when considering the required customer service inspection (CSI) which must be completed for all eight units and the tract of property to be served. ]BA Y,bps`>x/@HnqXNZ1yek5Fq8:^bV_W =.*'&0Y5E4oUpcbT6P,SkV/ lliF7LEM]AgDtC,a]oaF![Oi0 qy}>XPN&:VYCp>F0 " Published in July/August 2020 (Issue 4 of Quench). The assumed population equivalent per connection should be indicated. That availability to use that capacity should be paid for, but not by tacking the costs onto existing customers. These waivers usually apply only when the customer voluntarily contacts the system to either install the appropriate number of meters or allow for inspection by system staff to verify that the other connections are not being used. Other possible solutions the system may suggest to the customer are: move the fence back so the meter is outside the fence; install a separate gate at the location of the meter; or provide a key or code so the meter reader or repair crew can access the water line and meter 24/7. /CMapType 2 def <95> <95> <2022> Fax: 512.472.5186 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. Published February/March 2021 (Issue 1 of Quench). <85> <85> <2026> Next, the system needs to send a copy of that policy to the entities that appear to be in violation of that policy along with a copy of the TCEQ rule requiring accurate measuring of each customers usage. If so, that is another major concern for liability should he interpret this agreement to read the meters as having free reign to the systems facilities. Total non -residential 6. This has an added benefit that the customers will be required to maintain their own service lines from the meter to their houses. A: This is a common question. 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. Is this legal or what problems could this create? << 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. I was told the meter was installed when a relative lived in a trailer on the far end of the property, but the meter has not been used for many years. \8h;""-[a]_aM7#0dpq6;tDdX)A!BuU ]H#Fjf )aAC;D <9F> <9F> <0178> Is it ethical for us to charge a second equity buy-in fee for this meter if we already charged such a fee for their first meter? 69 0 obj<> endobj startxref A: Master metered accounts are typically used when a landowner wants a single meter to provide water service to multiple buildings, apartments, offices, trailer spaces or other types of business activities.