Question: How do you calculate the savings for a water submeter in a single-family home? The Board of Water Supply seems to require special permits, etc., all of which are costly.
Answer: The Board of Water Supply handles the billing, but it is the city Department of Environmental Services that oversees the Wastewater Discharge Submeter Program, which allows customers to install submeters to determine sewer charges.
Environmental Services officials said it’s up to you to determine whether submetering will be beneficial by considering such factors as the cost of the submeter; the cost of hiring a licensed plumber to install and segregate the water lines; the cost of installing a backflow preventer (unless you already have one); the time involved in monitoring and submitting the submeter readings; and the actual savings.
It warns that all equipment, installation, maintenance and related costs are the responsibility of the user.
Environmental Services has a fact sheet available to help consumers determine whether installing a submeter will save money (see is.gd/Wastewatersubmetering).
Here’s an example it gave: Residential customers pay $3 per 1,000 gallons of water use. Without a submeter, they get a flat 2,000-gallon credit per month and an 18 percent reduction in use for irrigation (water not going into the sewer system).
A customer using 14,400 gallons would get billed for 14,000 gallons of water use (rounded down), or $42. (Water use for sewer billing is reduced by the 18 percent irrigation credit before the amount billed is determined.)
If that customer had a submeter, he still would receive the 2,000-gallon credit. But, if the submeter showed 10,000 gallons going for irrigation, he would be billed for 8,000 gallons of water use, or $24, for a savings of $18 per month.
"The customer needs to determine how quickly the investment in the submeter and related plumbing changes is paid for before determining if a submeter makes sense," according to Environmental Services.
For more information or to check what permits are required, call 768-3330.
A previous requirement that plans be prepared by a licensed architect or engineer has been deleted, and plans may be prepared, "in an informal format," by a licensed plumber. The requirement for a building permit also is being deleted.
Question: For a long time I have wondered about a lovely outside wall painting on Kapiolani Boulevard, near Piikoi Street. It has a couple looking over the water at Diamond Head. "Hawkey" is on the upper right corner. Do you know anything about the artist? Are there any other examples of his work that the public can see?
Answer: The mural was done by artist Eric Hawkey, who also created the whale mural on the wall of the building at 905 Waimanu St.
He is the owner of Hawkey Design Group, based in Nevada. For more information, check his website, hawkeydesigns.com/index.html.
MAHALO
To four boys who helped us when we got lost trying to find the freeway back to Pearl City. Relatives from Okinawa were visiting, so I took them for a little ride to Kaneohe. Unfortunately, I lost my way and ended up at the Marine base. We tried to find our way back to Pali Highway, but then we got lost in Kaneohe. A nice lady came out of her house and gave us directions to Pali Highway. Everything was fine until I decided to take the King Street cutoff and got lost in Kalihi. I saw four boys waiting at the bus stop and asked if they could help me. At first I was leery, after hearing all these stories about gangs, but they were so nice and helpful. I offered them money, but they said, "No, no, no." What beautiful and precious boys, whose parents raised them properly. I just want them to know that we finally got to Pearl City OK. — Margaret
Write to "Kokua Line" at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.