Private Water Sub-meter Program
Program in which sewer service charges are based upon private sub-meter readings.
Background Information
The Los Angeles City Council authorized a procedure in 1996 that allows City of Los Angeles sewer system customers to use data from private water sub-meters in the calculation of their sewer service charges (SSC). The program is totally optional and the customer will bear all costs associated with it.
The program requires that the customer's plumbing be configured to separate the water distribution lines on the customer's property which drain to the sewer ("tributary lines") from those which do not drain to the sewer ("nontributary lines"). In the residential situation, tributary lines serve interior (domestic) uses, and nontributary lines serve exterior (primarily irrigation) uses. A private sub-meter may be installed on either the tributary or nontributary line.
Why Install a Water Sub-meter?
The present system bases the SSC on a percentage of the volume of water delivered through the City meter and uses an estimating procedure to determine the nontributary percentage. The private sub-meter will substitute actual data for the estimate. Thus, the program should benefit many customers who use a greater than average volume of water for irrigation.
How to Learn More
Learn more about the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, Bureau of Sanitation's sub-meter program and how a sub-meter can help you determine your indoor and outdoor water usage and sewer charges by viewing the Residential Private Water Sub-meter Information Package.