Folks living in mobile homes and condominiums in Oxford Township will begin paying more on their water and sewer bills next year as officials allocated both of them a new Residential Equivalent Unit (REU) factor that puts them on par with a standard single-family home.

That was just one of the changes made by the township board last week when it voted 7-0 to adopt an updated REU factor schedule. It will take effect Jan. 1, 2019.

Under it, mobile homes are increasing from 0.85 REU to 1 REU per unit and condos, both attached and detached, are being bumped up from 0.6 REU to 1 REU per unit.

“Apartments remain the same (at 0.6 REU),” noted township engineer Jim Sharpe.

An REU is a way to proportionally equate the water and sanitary sewage usage of non-residential facilities to that of a typical single-family home. One home’s water usage equals 1 REU whereas a business that uses the equivalent of five single-family homes, for example, would be assigned 5 REUs.

“Based on the meter data provided to us (by) the WRC (Water Resources Commissioner’s Office) billing department, a typical home in Oxford Township consumes an average of 175 gallons of water per day during non-summer months,” Sharpe said.

November through April are considered the non-summer months.

“Non-summer months are the best way to evaluate actual household water consumption so the sprinkling of lawns does not skew the analysis,” Sharpe explained.

According to Sharpe, the numbers showed the previous REU schedule was not accurate when it came to mobile homes and condominiums because they use just as much water as single-family homes.

“The meter data provided to us (by) the WRC shows that the Parkhurst Mobile Home Community consumes an average of 178 gallons of water per mobile home site and (the) Lake Villa (Manufactured Home Community) consumes an average of 172 gallons per site,” he said. “Thus, an increase in the REU allocation factor (from) 0.85 to 1.00 can be justified.”

“Similarly, (by) using the metered water usage (data) from residences in the Stony Lake, Golf Villa, Hills of Oxford and Pathfinder condominium developments, (we found) the average water consumption for a single unit is 174 gallons per unit per day. Again, justifying an increase in the REU allocation to 1.00,” Sharpe said.

Sharpe also used the WRC data he obtained to update the rest of the township’s REU factor schedule to more accurately reflect the actual water and sewer usage of non-residential facilities.

“For several non-residential use types, we were able to obtain (the) records of actual metered water usage from the WRC billing department,” Sharpe explained to this reporter. “The data we used dates back to 2012. That’s 24 quarters of data, which provides an accurate representation of historical water usage . . . Based on this information, we were able to equate the water usage for several non-residential use types to that of an average home to establish the updated REU schedule.”

A number of uses listed on the old schedule had their REU allocations adjusted.

For example, the REUs assigned to conventional-style restaurants that don’t serve alcohol decreased from 0.13 to 0.08 per seat. Country clubs decreased from 0.08 to 0.04 REU per member.

Manual (do-it-yourself) car washes had their REU allocations increased from 2.5 to 2.89 per stall. Assisted living/retirement facilities were increased from 0.3 to 0.36 REU per bed.

Churches were changed from 0.01 REU per seat to 0.11 REU per 1,000 square feet.

Medical clinics were changed from 1 REU per doctor to 0.19 REU per 1,000 square feet. Dental clinics were changed from 1.4 REUs per dentist to 0.83 REU per 1,000 square feet.

Barber shops were changed from 1 REU per 1,000 square feet to 0.2 REU per booth. Beauty salons were changed from 0.22 REU per booth to 0.71 REU per 1,000 square feet.

“It’s (about) being fair and equal to all who use the water system,” said Trustee Jack Curtis, who chairs the water and sewer committee.

Uses that weren’t listed on the previous schedule were given REU assignments on the updated schedule.

For example, big box stores with multiple uses (such as Meijer and Walmart) were assigned 0.2 REU per 1,000 square feet, while big boxes with single uses (such as Lowe’s and Home Depot) were allocated 0.05 REU per 1,000 square feet.

Banks and credit unions were assigned 0.46 REU per 1,000 square feet. Kids indoor activity centers were assigned 0.12 REU per 1,000 square feet.

Sharpe told the township board an update of the REU schedule was long overdue.

“It’s been changed a couple times and the last time was over a decade ago,” he said.

The REU schedule is used by the township to determine how much water customers are charged to help pay off the bond debt it previously incurred to fund extensive system improvements. On a quarterly basis, all township water customers currently pay $52.50 per REU as a debt service charge.

REU allocations are also used for calculating sewer bills. The township charges $86 per REU per quarter.

Township Treasurer Joe Ferrari questioned why the new REU schedule isn’t being made “effective now.”

Curtis explained the township is “giving people an opportunity to budget for it.”

REU assignments are used to determine how much to charge for new connections to the municipal water and sewer systems. It costs $6,075 per REU to hook up to the water system and $3,500 per REU to connect to the sewer system.