James Walker, utility billing and recycling manager for Pinellas Park, said one reason to keep the minimum charge is that embedded within it is the money that helps keep the water infrastructure sound. Pinellas Park's incentive to conserve really is targeted at consumers who use the most water. The rates per thousand gallons escalate quickly past those first 3,000. Other jurisdictions, such as Tampa, St. Petersburg and Hillsborough County, have separate charges to cover infrastructure and other fixed costs. If you use zero gallons of water, you still get that bill to cover our costs.
Somebody has to go out and read the meter.
Volume charges are based on actual use. As for the dilemma created by master metering, there is a way to fix it, said Dave Bracciano, resource conservation coordinator for Tampa Bay Water, the region's principal water wholesaler. They read the meters and bill the residents. The residents pay the company, and the company pays the master meter bill. The companies make their money from the meter-reading fees.