Stage 1 – Building plumbing requirements - ocn.org.au · Stage 1 – Building plumbing...

Multi-level individual metering guide

Stage 1 – Building plumbing requirements

Contents

1 Introduction 3

2 Individual unit metering plan 4

2.1 Stage 1: Preparing the building for individual metering 4

2.2 Stage 2: Mandatory individual metering of strata units 4

2.3 Metering for existing buildings 5

3 Preparing for individual water meters 6

3.1 Plumbing 6

3.2 Building metering configuration 6

3.3 Meter backflow protection 6

3.4 Individual meter - location 6

3.5 Master and individual meter - orientation 6

3.6 Individual meter - pipe work clearances 7

3.7 Individual meter - marking and labelling 7

3.8 Individual meter - assembly 7

3.9 Temporary spacer for unit meter and couplings 7

3.10 Data logger location and power 7

3.11 Centralised hot water service 7

3.12 Responsibility of meters and plumbing 7

4 Future metering system 8

4.1 Metering System 1: Developments up to and including three floors will be fitted with AMR system 8

4.2 Metering System 2: Developments four floors and above must be fitted with AMI system 8

5 Future billing 9

6 Contact us 10

7 Appendix 11

7.1 Building prepared for individual unit metering (Stage 1) 11

7.2 Building with individual unit meters installed (Stage 2) 12

7.3 Location of individual unit metering 13

7.4 Individual unit water meter assembly spacing 14

8 Definitions 15

9 References 16

Multi-level individual metering guide – Stage 1

Document current at 8 November 2012 3

1 Introduction

The individual metering of units by Sydney Water is aimed at improving equity in billing for water usage in strata developments by billing owners for the water they actually use rather than a fixed portion of the total water used in the building. All multi-level building developments from November 2012 have the option to prepare their building for individual cold water metering. It can apply to all multi-level buildings that are vertically strata subdivided or can be vertically strata subdivided in future. This includes residential, commercial, mixed or any other use.

For all other development types including town houses and villas refer to the Water meter installation guide on Sydney Water’s website. This guide provides information to assist hydraulic engineers, architects, developers and plumbers to prepare buildings for individual unit metering of cold water. The provision for individual metering of new multi-level building developments is expected to become mandatory late 2013-2014 and will be enforced through the Sydney Water Notice of Requirements (NOR) issued under Section 74 of the Sydney Water Act 1994. Note content in this document may change. Please check the website for the latest version.



2 Individual unit metering plan

Individual metering of units requires that:

buildings are constructed with appropriate pipework and space for individual metering

metering systems are installed to provide billing.

With this in mind, Sydney Water will introduce individual metering in two stages.

2.1 Stage 1: Preparing the building for individual metering From November 2012, Sydney Water’s Notice of Requirements (NOR) will indicate that individual metering of units within a multi-level building is optional and encourage developers to review this guide. Developers will be able to incorporate individual metering into the design and construction of buildings so that individual meters can be installed at a future time. While the decision to prepare the building for individual metering is optional at the moment, Sydney Water has specified the requirements that must be met before the owners of individual strata units can be billed for their water use. Sydney Water’s requirements for building plumbing design and construction are outlined in Section 3 of this guide and the requirements for the future metering system are outlined in Section 4 of this guide. Sydney Water’s arrangements for set up of these future metering systems are expected to be available from late 2013-2014. Sydney Water will provide guidance and work with developers to ensure their buildings are suitable for future individual metering. If you would like more information email [email protected] or call Robert Crissani on (02) 8849 4780 or Mirko Sramek on (02) 8849 3674.

2.2 Stage 2: Mandatory individual metering of strata units Sydney Water expects mandatory requirements to be introduced late 2013-2014.

In this stage, all multi level buildings that are either being vertically strata subdivided or capable of being vertically strata subdivided in the future must be constructed to allow for individual metering.

Sydney Water will require that all buildings that are vertically strata subdivided will have individual metering installed and commissioned near completion of the building. Buildings that are not vertically strata subdivided will be required to install plumbing for individual metering but will not be required to install individual meters for units as these will not be individually billed for water use until they are vertically strata subdivided. Individual meters can be installed by the owner at their cost and they can apportion the bill from the master meter for each unit.



We will accredit a number of meter suppliers who will be able to supply, install and commission the metering system into a building which has been built to allow for individual metering according to this guide. This list of suppliers will be made available on our website. The developer will be responsible for the cost of setting up this metering arrangement. This will include the cost of supplying individual meters, meter systems, installation and commissioning. In Stage 2 the NOR will require that a developer provides a copy of an official purchase order placed to an accredited meter supplier to show that they have committed to installing individual metering to our requirements. The metering systems will be capable of being read from outside the building. The metering systems will be wireless systems that can be installed towards the end of construction of the building. The developer and accredited meter supplier will make arrangements on when the meters are to be installed. Sydney Water will take over the metering system after the accredited meter supplier has provided appropriate commissioning documentation to Sydney Water and after the strata plan has been registered Summary of requirements for Stage 1 and 2 Requirements

Stage 1 (from November 2012)

Stage 2 (expect late 2013-2014)

Provide plumbing and individual meter space in building

Optional for developers Mandatory for developers

Install individual meters and metering system

Can be done at Developer or Owners Corporation cost after Sydney Water announces Accredited Meter Suppliers in Stage 2 if plumbing and individual meter space provided as per guide.

Mandatory by developer for strata subdivided

2.3 Metering for existing buildings Existing buildings that are able to comply with our guidelines on meter location may be eligible for retrofitting of individual metering. These will need to fulfil the same requirements as a new development.



3 Preparing for individual water meters

This section provides the water meter hydraulic system details for the master meter and individual metering configuration, location, orientation and clearances. Please refer to the appendix for diagrams.

3.1 Plumbing All plumbing work must be done to relevant Australian Standards and plumbing and building rules.

3.2 Building metering configuration The total cold water supply to the building must be metered through a master meter and the meter must be installed in accordance with Sydney Water meter fit policy. Each unit must be supplied with only one cold water metered inlet and only the cold water supplied to each unit must be metered through the individual meter. For unit developments with centralised hot water systems only the cold water will be metered. All individual meters must be supplied directly from the master meter. A separate meter for the common area (eg garden, pool, rainwater tank top-up, fire hose reels, air conditioner cooling towers, etc) will not be required as the water usage will be captured through the master meter.

3.3 Meter backflow protection All 20mm & 25mm individual meters shall be fitted with an integrated Dual Check Valves (DCV). Please refer to Sydney Water’s Backflow Prevention Containment policy for details.

3.4 Individual meter - location The individual meters must be installed in a non-metallic enclosure or cupboard in a common area to ensure unrestricted access to the meters.

The meter utility room/compound or service duct/meter box shall be designed to enable adequate drainage of any excess water in case of leaks, or when meters are replaced.

3.5 Master and individual meter - orientation The master and individual meters must be installed and orientated in accordance with the meter manufacturer’s specifications to ensure accurate measurement of water consumption. The individual meter must be orientated to ensure the meter register display can be easily read for commissioning, audits and manual meter reads without a ladder or other aids.



3.6 Individual meter - pipe work clearances Clearances around the meter must be in accordance with Sydney Water requirements as shown in the diagram in appendix 7.4. In summary:

no less than 150mm above finished floor level no greater than 1.5m above finished floor level with a minimum clearance of 150mm between the centre of each pipe and

any wall or door. The dimensions of the individual meter (length x breadth x height) need to be taken into consideration to allow the meter to rotate around the centre line without clashing with the adjacent meter.

3.7 Individual meter - marking and labelling Every individual meter or meter frame must be appropriately labelled with the associated unit number. The permanent identification label must be fitted to the fixed pipe on the outlet side of the meter.

3.8 Individual meter - assembly A ¼ turn ball valve and Sydney Water approved couplings must be fitted to both sides of the individual meter. The coupling shall have a female end for connection to the stop valve. Please see the diagram in appendix 7.4

3.9 Temporary spacer for unit meter and couplings For the individual unit metering a temporary spacer (bridging piece) can be used until the meter and associated couplings are available. The temporary spacer and two stop valves will be supplied and fitted by the developer.

3.10 Data logger location and power For buildings four floors and above (refer to section 4.2) the developer must make provisions for a data logger and 240V 10A power point. This may be fitted in a cupboard to allow for the future Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) data logger. This must not be below street level to ensure maximum mobile network signal strength.

3.11 Centralised hot water service Sydney Water will not individually meter centralised hot water services.

3.12 Responsibility of meters and plumbing The maintenance of the internal plumbing is the responsibility of the Owners Corporation. Sydney Water is responsible for the maintenance of the individual meters, once transferred to Sydney Water.



4 Future metering system

Installation of metering systems into buildings that have been prepared for individual unit metering will coincide with Stage 2 mandatory requirements and is expected to be available late 2013-2014. The Sydney Water wireless automated metering solutions will be used for managing the meter readings from the master meter and individual meters servicing each strata property, as opposed to the current manual meter reading process. All of the Sydney Water wireless individual meters and master meter installed in the building will be automatically read using either an automatic meter reading (AMR) walk-by handheld or automatic metering infrastructure (AMI) fixed network. Both systems ensure that the meter register displayed on the water meter is electronically sent to Sydney Water using wireless digital technology eliminating any visual errors. An advantage of the wireless metering systems is that it allows the installation to take place at the end of construction. Also, the latest multi-storey buildings are fitted with security doors, which is a building access issue for Sydney Water when we need to read our meters. The accredited metering supplier (AMS) once selected by the developer will supply, install and commission the AMR or AMI system. Sydney Water proposes to offer developers two systems to automate the meter reading process.

4.1 Metering System 1: Developments up to and including three floors will be fitted with AMR system These developments will be fitted with an AMR metering solution. The AMR meter system solution will allow the meter reader to electronically read the meter readings from outside the building using a handheld reader. This improves the meter readings captured (no visual errors) and time without entering the property.

4.2 Metering System 2: Developments four floors and above must be fitted with AMI system The developer will be required to install an AMI metering system that will transmit (using mobile phone network) individual meter reading data to Sydney Water. The communication between the individual meters and the data logger is wireless although repeaters may be required to extend the data signals in some developments. Note: If the development contains multiple buildings which could adopt AMR and AMI based on the above conditions, then the AMI will prevail for all buildings.



5 Future billing

If a property is under a strata plan Sydney Water will provide the following bills in the future

Individual unit cold water usage to the property owner

water usage that is not individual unit usage (ie common usage including the centralised hot water usage, garden, pool etc ) to the Owners Corporation. This bill will be calculated from the master meter less the individual metered bills.

If a property is not under a strata plan we will only bill total water use from the master meter. In these cases the owner can install private meters at their discretion and cost.



6 Contact us

If you would like more information email [email protected] or call Robert Crissani on (02) 8849 4780 or Mirko Sramek on (02) 8849 3674.



7 Appendix

7.1 Building prepared for individual unit metering (Stage 1) This diagram is an example only and requirements will vary from site to site.

The building has been prepared with individual plumbing and bridging piece ready for future installation of individual unit meters.



7.2 Building with individual unit meters installed (Stage 2) This diagram is an example only and requirements will vary from site to site.

The building has individual meters installed on strata units.



7.3 Location of individual unit metering This diagram is an example only and requirements will vary from site to site.



7.4 Individual unit water meter assembly spacing This diagram is an example only and requirements will vary from site to site.



8 Definitions

Term Definition AMI Automated Metering Infrastructure. A fixed network wireless

meter reading system.

AMR Automated Meter Reading. Remote meter reading system using walk-by wireless handheld.

Backflow This is when water is sucked backward through the water supply instead of forward. There is a risk of contamination when this happens.

Dual check value Is a device fitted within the meter that stops un-treated water being sucked back into the water supply.

Individual meter Water meter to measure individual cold unit water consumption.

Master meter Water meter to measure the total cold water consumption. Multi level building This is a building with more than a ground floor that is not a

house, townhouse or terrace. Notice of Requirements (NOR)

Notice of Requirements is a notice issued to a developer by Sydney Water specifying what is required to obtain a Section 73 Compliance Certificate.

Strata Lot (Strata) This is a lot that the Land and Property Information register in a strata plan under the Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act 1973. A strata plan must have internal lots and external lots. Generally, internal lots are occupied lots and external lots are common areas. An internal lot may be a townhouse, villa, apartment or unit.

Strata Plan (SP) The division of land contained in conventional title/s into strata lots and common property or strata lots only

Vertical strata subdivision

A multi-level building that is or can be subdivided into lots as defined in the land and property information register.

Water meter This is a device we use to measure a customer’s water use.



9 References

Document type Title Legislation Sydney Water Act 1994.

Standards & Codes Plumbing Code of Australia

AS/NZ S3500 Plumbing and Drainage Policies Water meter policy Other documents Water meter installation guide

Water meter care guide Customer connections guide

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