Water Bill Woes

I live in an apartment complex that has submetering water infrastructure. This means we are charged for our own personal consumption per apartment. However, 2 weeks ago we received a notice from our property manager saying that our water bill is changing over to a flat rate, meaning we pay one fee per month regardless of how much water we use (or don't use). Our property manager promoted this switchover as: "just think how much easier it will be knowing your rent and utilities will be the same amount each month?" No, it actually wouldn't. I want to pay for how much I use.

This particularly upsets me since we actively conserve water in our household. We now have to pay $30/month for a 1 bedroom apartment with a dishwasher (it differs for the number of bedrooms and whether you have a dishwasher or clothes washer); our water bill averaged $20/month before this change. To me this is completely unfair. (Of course, reading the fine print in the lease, the complex can decide how to bill charges for utilities they provide).

On the same note, it's a complete disincentive for people to conserve water. They could just think, "it doesn't matter how much water we use, we will pay the same amount for it each month anyway." There will also be less of a chance of catching leaks. When people get their own bills, they can track their water usage and would most likely notice a spike and investigate why there was an increase in their bill should one occur. Sometimes there is a way to explain an increase in use (e.g., guests in town, new landscaping installed), but most of the time it's due to a leak. If people no longer receive monthly bills, this advantage is lost and leaks will go unnoticed and water will be wasted.

In the flyer notice, they also alluded to the fact that this would remedy some issues that they have been having with the meters and the metering company. If the infrastructure is already in place, then the meters should just be fixed and another metering company could be hired. Bottom line is the complex probably wants to save money and not deal with fixing the problem and finding a new company and to, of course, make some money in the meantime. I know they'll be making at least $10/month from us.