2013-07-15 - Ordinance 2013-040 - ADDING SECTION 13.04.155 - IRRIGATION METERS - TO TITLE 13 OF THE VBG CODE! . 1 •
ORDINANCE NO. 2013 -40
AN ORDINANCE ADDING SECTION 13.04.155 — IRRIGATION METERS - TO
TITLE 13 OF THE VILLAGE OF BUFFALO GROVE MUNICIPAL CODE
WHEREAS, the Village of Buffalo Grove is a Home Rule Unit pursuant to the Illinois Constitution
of 1970; and
WHEREAS, Village of Buffalo Grove customers residing in Lake County, Illinois, pay on the basis
of water consumption a fee to the County of Lake to treat sanitary sewer wastewater, and
WHEREAS, Village of Buffalo Grove customers residing in Lake County, Illinois, with underground
irrigation systems do not add treatable volume to the Lake County sanitary sewer system; and,
WHEREAS, the County of Lake allows within the intergovernmental agreement with the Village
of Buffalo Grove customers the ability to separately meter water used in irrigation systems, and
WHEREAS, any irrigation water used in Lake County, measured through an irrigation meter, will
be exempt from paying Lake County sanitary sewer fees.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE
VILLAGE OF BUFFALO GROVE, COOK AND LAKE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS, the following:
SECTION 1. Section 13.04.155, Irrigation Meters, of the Village of Buffalo Grove Municipal Code
is added to read as follows:
A. Any Lake County customer with an underground irrigation system may add a separate
irrigation meter to the main water utility service line. The user shall request a permit for the
installation of the irrigation meter. The user shall pay for the cost of creating the opening in
the main water service line, meter, radio box, and an inspection fee.
B. All metered water measured by the irrigation meter will be charged at the current
consumption rate noted in section 13.04.190 section B.
SECTION 2. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval
and publication as of July 15, 2013. This ordinance may be published in pamphlet form.
AYES: 6- Berman, Trilling, Sussman, Terson, Stein, Ottenheimer
NAYES: O -None
ABSENT: 0 -None
PASSED: July 15 ,2013. APPROVED: July 15 , 2013.
PUBLISHED:July 16 , 2013.
ATTEST:
Vill Clerk
TO: Dane Bragg, Village Manager
FROM: Scott Anderson, Finance Director
RE: Irrigation Meters
Recommendation:
Staff is recommending that Title 13 of the Buffalo Grove Municipal Code be amended to allow for the
installation of irrigation meters.
Background.
In 2011, the village changed Lake County sanitary sewer fees from a flat fee to a fee calculated on gallons
of water consumed. Part of the decision to move to consumption billing, beyond the equity of the
application, was the ability to offer customers a solution to mitigate bill spikes due to outdoor water
usage. Absent ground water infiltration in the system, none of the water used outdoors is being treated by
Lake County Public Works.
The solution is the summer sewer service credit that is offered to all residential properties in Lake County.
The credit caps all summer sewer charges so that the actual billing is to be no more than 110 percent of
the average non summer month consumption. The cap is calculated by averaging the sewer use for the
months of September though April (8 months) and adding an additional 10 percent.
Example:
Non summer month average 10,000 gallons
Extension of cap @ 10% 1.000 gallons
Total summer sewer cap @110% 11,000 gallons
In the example above, the homeowner averages 10,000 gallons of water each bi- monthly billing cycle
between the consumption months of September through April. For the summer months of May - August
the most that resident will be charged for Lake County sanitary sewer service is 11,000 gallons. Although
the credit does provide relief to those Lake County residents who water their landscape frequently there
is the potential for large water utility bills for the month of September. Last year, September continued the
hot and dry pattern of the summer. Usage in September is not capped and many residents saw a spike in
sewer billing. One way to mitigate for the cost of outdoor water use that will be not be treated is through
the installation of irrigation meters.
Irrigation Meter Program:
Irrigation meters would be offered to Lake County residents who own underground irrigation systems.
The purpose of the meter is to measure the amount of water used outside of the home. The billing rate for
that usage would only be for water. No Lake County sewer fees would be charged. Cook Count residents
would not be a part of this program. Sanitary sewer fees are assessed through property taxes. There
would be no financial benefit to install a second meter at those homes.
The irrigation meter would be installed before the house meter. Staff is currently reviewing whether the
meter would reside inside or outside of the home. If the meter is outside of the house (similar to the
backflow preventer) both the backflow device and irrigation meter would need to be pulled in the winter
and reinstalled for the summer. Listed below is a picture of what the plumbing might look like.
Page 1 of 4
•
Meter Configuration
May move the meter outside
TO OUTSID
IRRIGATIOI
SYSTEM
FROM WATE
MAIN
If a Lake County resident was interested in a meter, they would contact the water utility department for
the meter. It would be the customer's responsibility to create the opening for the meter, purchase the
meter, and pay for the inspection. A village water utility employee would attach the meter in the opening.
Estimates of costs are listed below.
Omni 1" $320 $150 $100
Residential homes will be either Omni 3/4" or Omni 1 ". Commercial properties require an Omni 1 i/z The
radio box allows the water utility department the flexibility of conducting radio reads. The estimate for
plumbing is for about 2.5 - 3 hours of work. Once the meter is installed, an inspector from building and
zoning would need to review the connection.
Pay Back Period:
The decision for a customer to spend at least $1,000 on an irrigation meter will be dependent upon the
potential savings and the time to recover the investment. For purposes of this evaluation, a consumption
average of six households that have irrigation systems is calculated as 'average summer usage'. The
impact of the summer sewer credit will be calculated at the present 110% and also 120% and 130 %. The
village has been assured by Lake County that the program will continue but there is a strong possibility
that the cap rate will be increased. There are about 1,500 customers in the village with irrigation systems.
The follow results were tabulated and listed below.
Page 2 of 4
B 46 22 24 26 29 $ 174.40 $ 156,80 $ 139.20
G 37 13 i4 i6,...< 17, 177 it} .., .. "`167,20 $ ii�.80.
D
48
15
17
18
20
$ 252.00
$
240.00 $ 228.00
7.
84 00 ' •., lf?
9.62
d
F 61
14
15
i7...,..i8
9.62
$
average
10.89
9.63
8.68
,,2ZO8U
F
61
17
19
20
22
$ 334.40
$
320.80 $ 307.20
all gallons in thousands
The largest annual savings was customer F at $334.40. The savings represents how much more each
customer's bill would have been absent the sanitary sewer service credit. The savings is generated over
two billing cycles. The savings diminishes by about $14 with each 10% increase in the cap for customer F.
The following chart shows how long it would take to recover the estimated cost of $1,000 to install the
meter measured in years.
B 46 22 24 26 29 $ 80.00 10.42 8.93 7.35
37� 117 „ 8.93
« <.
D 48
15 17 18
20 $
80.00 10.42
9.62
8.33
E
14
7.
84 00 ' •., lf?
9.62
d
F 61
17 19 20
22 $
80.00 10.42
9.62
8.93
average
10.89
9.63
8.68
The pay back period is calculated by subtracting the difference between the average non - summer usage times $4
from the summer cap usage time $4.
Lake A customer illustrated;
Average Non - summer Usage
Summer Cap @ 110%
Difference per billing cycle
Two billing cycles
September un- capped billing
Meter Investment
Pay back period
Years
8 *$4 =$32
= 9 *$4 =$36
_ $4
= 2 *$4 =$8
$ 80
$ 1,000
_ $1,000/$88
= 11.36
The Un- Capped September Usage is an assumption that the homeowner will use 20,000 gallons that
month that will not be capped. Using the current 110% cap, the average time to recover the original
investment would be 10.89 years. If the cap is raised to 120% the time moves to 9.63 years. A 130% cap
will require 8.68 years to break even.
Page 3 of 4
Z
0
91
STATE OF ILLINOIS) ss.
COUNTY OF COOK )
CERTIFICATE
I, Janet M. Sirabian, certify that I am the duly elected
and acting Village Clerk of the Village of Buffalo
Grove, Cook and Lake Counties, Illinois. I fixrther
certify that on July 15, 2013, the Corporate
Authorities of the Village passed and approved
Ordinance No. 2013 -40, AN ORDINANCE
ADDING SECTION 13.04.155- IRRIGATION
METERS -TO TITLE 13 OF THE VILLAGE OF
BUFFALO GROVE MUNICIPAL CODE, a copy of
such Ordinance was posted in and at the Village Hall,
commencing on July 16, 2013 and continuing for at
least ten days thereafter. Copies of such Ordinance
were also available for public inspection upon request
in the Office of Village Clerk.
Dated at Buffalo Grove, Illinois, this 16th day of
July, 2013.
.. �L
M
.•W ' �
ORDINANCE NO. 2013 -40
AN ORDINANCE ADDING SECTION 13.04.155 — IRRIGATION METERS - TO
TITLE 13 OF THE VILLAGE OF BUFFALO GROVE MUNICIPAL CODE
WHEREAS, the Village of Buffalo Grove is a Home Rule Unit pursuant to the Illinois Constitution
of 1970; and
WHEREAS, Village of Buffalo Grove customers residing in Lake County, Illinois, pay on the basis
of water consumption a fee to the County of Lake to treat sanitary sewer wastewater, and
WHEREAS, Village of Buffalo Grove customers residing in Lake County, Illinois, with underground
irrigation systems do not add treatable volume to the Lake County sanitary sewer system; and,
WHEREAS, the County of Lake allows within the intergovernmental agreement with the Village
of Buffalo Grove customers the ability to separately meter water used in irrigation systems, and
WHEREAS, any irrigation water used in Lake County, measured through an irrigation meter, will
be exempt from paying Lake County sanitary sewer fees.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE
VILLAGE OF BUFFALO GROVE, COOK AND LAKE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS, the following:
SECTION 1. Section 13.04.155, Irrigation Meters, of the Village of Buffalo Grove Municipal Code
is added to read as follows:
A. Any Lake County customer with an underground irrigation system may add a separate
irrigation meter to the main water utility service line. The user shall request a permit for the
installation of the irrigation meter. The user shall pay for the cost of creating the opening in
the main water service line, meter, radio box, and an inspection fee.
B. All metered water measured by the irrigation meter will be charged at the current
consumption rate noted in section 13.04.190 section B.
SECTION 2. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval
and publication as of July 15, 2013. This ordinance may be published in pamphlet form.
AYES: 6- Berman, Trilling, Sussman; Terson, Stein, Ottenheimer
NAYES: 0 -None
f
ABSENT: O -None
v
PASSED: July 15 ,2013. APPROVED: July 15 2013.
PUBLISHED:JuIy 16 2013.
ATTEST:
Villag Clerk