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Why can't we just have a 2 tier water pricing system? Tier 1 is very cheap, so that everyone can afford water to drink and wash themselves. Anything over that a

Why can't we just have a 2 tier water pricing system? Tier 1 is very cheap, so that everyone can afford water to drink and wash themselves. Anything over that amount in tier 1 get's priced at something more realistic. That incentivizes industry to be economic about their water usage and private people are deterred from being wasteful.

yincrash 11y ago
that would require new infrastructure in _all buildings_ to have two sets of pipes. edit: apparently i misunderstood the parent and it cost me 5 downvotes
- Domenic_S 11y ago
  Uh, why? We already meter usage, so apply the tiered rates the same way we tier electricity.
- k-mcgrady 11y ago
  Huh? Why don't you just say tier 1 is n litres per day (enough for a large family to drink, cook, and wash. After that the price rises by x%.
- sleazebreeze 11y ago
  Are you making a joke? The tiered water system would be implemented on the billing and invoicing side of things, not two separate water delivery mechanisms.
genericuser 11y ago
I was under the impression that California had tiers in place for urban use of all utilities. But I only observed the tier in place for electricity while I lived in San Francisco, so I realize this must not be the case for other utilities if you are suggesting it.
njovin 11y ago
My district already does this, but there's more than 2 tiers: http://www.sandiego.gov/water/rates/rates/ http://www.sandiego.gov/water/rates/rates/
Balgair 11y ago
Most people in LA-city and the myriad of others don't pay for their water, their landlord does, and by law, it can only be added to rent (updating once a year at the earliest). This was originally a measure to help families out in dire times of drought to begin with, and is going to be used as such again here. The rent is supposed to reflect the usage of water included, much like garbage or power surcharges negotiated in the lease or rental contract. Additionally, most place will not update the rent yearly as is. It is then obvious that since no-one in SoCal is incentivized to save water by the market on a timely basis, this scheme to have people pay more as they use is not a good way to keep thirst down. If you listen to radio/TV you see a lot of ads trying to get people to use less voluntarily. This is because it is very difficult for people to even know how much water they are using in the first place.
baddox 11y ago
That sounds reasonable enough, but is it even necessary? How much of the cost of residential water service has anything to do with the market cost of the water itself? My guess is that the vast majority of a residential water bill is for covering infrastructure costs, and that even a large increase in the market price of the water itself would barely be noticeable to residential water bills.
deleted 11y ago
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cbhl 11y ago
I feel like such a pricing system would spell the end of water fountains (in parks, malls, stores, and whatnot).
- teej 11y ago
  These are luxuries we can go without in a drought.
cbr 11y ago
We currently have a 2 tier system the other way. Municipal water is far more expensive than agricultural water. [1] We don't need tiers: personal water use is so small in comparison that it remains affordable even at rates that would make most farming impractical. [1] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-24/california-water-prices-soar-for-farmers-as-drought-grows http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-24/california... described prices at $1,100 per acre-foot, but that's just $0.003/gal

yincrash 11y ago

that would require new infrastructure in _all buildings_ to have two sets of pipes. edit: apparently i misunderstood the parent and it cost me 5 downvotes

Domenic_S 11y ago
Uh, why? We already meter usage, so apply the tiered rates the same way we tier electricity.
k-mcgrady 11y ago
Huh? Why don't you just say tier 1 is n litres per day (enough for a large family to drink, cook, and wash. After that the price rises by x%.
sleazebreeze 11y ago
Are you making a joke? The tiered water system would be implemented on the billing and invoicing side of things, not two separate water delivery mechanisms.

genericuser 11y ago

I was under the impression that California had tiers in place for urban use of all utilities. But I only observed the tier in place for electricity while I lived in San Francisco, so I realize this must not be the case for other utilities if you are suggesting it.

njovin 11y ago

My district already does this, but there's more than 2 tiers: http://www.sandiego.gov/water/rates/rates/ http://www.sandiego.gov/water/rates/rates/

Balgair 11y ago

Most people in LA-city and the myriad of others don't pay for their water, their landlord does, and by law, it can only be added to rent (updating once a year at the earliest). This was originally a measure to help families out in dire times of drought to begin with, and is going to be used as such again here. The rent is supposed to reflect the usage of water included, much like garbage or power surcharges negotiated in the lease or rental contract. Additionally, most place will not update the rent yearly as is. It is then obvious that since no-one in SoCal is incentivized to save water by the market on a timely basis, this scheme to have people pay more as they use is not a good way to keep thirst down. If you listen to radio/TV you see a lot of ads trying to get people to use less voluntarily. This is because it is very difficult for people to even know how much water they are using in the first place.

baddox 11y ago

That sounds reasonable enough, but is it even necessary? How much of the cost of residential water service has anything to do with the market cost of the water itself? My guess is that the vast majority of a residential water bill is for covering infrastructure costs, and that even a large increase in the market price of the water itself would barely be noticeable to residential water bills.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

cbhl 11y ago

I feel like such a pricing system would spell the end of water fountains (in parks, malls, stores, and whatnot).

teej 11y ago
These are luxuries we can go without in a drought.

cbr 11y ago

We currently have a 2 tier system the other way. Municipal water is far more expensive than agricultural water. [1] We don't need tiers: personal water use is so small in comparison that it remains affordable even at rates that would make most farming impractical. [1] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-24/california-water-prices-soar-for-farmers-as-drought-grows http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-24/california... described prices at $1,100 per acre-foot, but that's just $0.003/gal