Publication Date
Fall 2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Environmental Studies
Advisor
Rachel O’Malley; Megan Thiele Strong; Metra Richert
Abstract
Access to water is a human right. With droughts becoming more frequent and severe, equitable and just access to fresh water is a critical concern for policymakers and regulators. Allocation-based (AB) water rates are used widely to incentivize conservation. Previous authors document benefits of this approach for single family homes (SFH) in urban areas. People living in homeowners’ associations (HOAs) or multi-family homes and renters – commonly grouped as non-traditional housing (NTH) tend to face barriers to understanding or controlling water use and costs. This thesis investigates the equity and effectiveness of 1) AB water rate structuring and 2) a collective outreach and irrigation repair effort for reducing water use in a single HOA in San Jose, CA during the 2020-2022 drought. In this case study, the water retailer calculated water allocation minimums using the SFH value of 6 ccf (17 m3) per water bill per month, instead of using the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) minimum of 55 gallons (208 liters) of water per person per day, for the HOA’s multi-family buildings. Using equitable per-person quantities, I show that 50% of the HOA’s water bills received insufficient water allocations. As a result, the HOA paid over $36,000 in unjustified penalties, assessed predominantly during the winter (low water-use) months. In contrast, water usage after the outreach and repair effort dropped by over 4.4 million gallons (16.8 million liters) compared to the year prior, saving the HOA over $24,000. Current AB rate structures risk penalizing vulnerable HOA residents for such a voluntary use reduction, however, if post-effort water usage were used as a baseline for future allocations.
Recommended Citation
Mangoni, Matthew J., "Justice and Equity in Urban Water Allocations and Conservation Solutions: a Case Study of Non-traditional Housing Dwellers" (2024). Master's Theses. 5598.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.5ncw-wych
https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/5598
