Digested From "Water Saver, or Burden for Tenants?"
NorthJersey.com by Donna Rolando
In New Jersey, apartment owners are pushing legislation they believe will be a boon to water conservation. The Water Conservation and Metering Act is being touted as having the potential to save 2 billion to 4.5 billion gallons of water annually by encouraging owners to install low-flow showerheads and toilets. The bill provides for metering of individual apartments to determine usage. In addition, it would enable owners to bill residents separately for their actual use. Except in rent-controlled communities, there would be no reduction in rent to compensate for the extra charges. Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex), a prime sponsor of the legislation, notes that the vast majority of states already have some form of sub-metering legislation on the books. Resident groups, though, are opposed to the bill on the grounds that it would make water and sewer bills suddenly their members' responsibility. Conor Fennessy, vice president of government affairs for the New Jersey Apartment Association, counters that the legislation would actually reward those residents who take pains to conserve by lowering their water and sewer bills and punish wasteful residents with higher bills. He states, "Right now there's no way to find out if Mrs. Smith is frugal with water and her neighbor is not."
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