To better understand how billing methods affect water consumption patterns, we examined detailed water and wastewater billing information for 32 properties acress three states.  Key findings:

• Tenants who pay for their water use less.
• Billing type is a more important influence on consumption patterns than either the cost of water/sewer or the age of the building.
• Incremental conservation within a building that converted to submetering or RUBS was not as large as expected.
• Billing system conversion needs to be carefully thought out and managed.
• Even with RUBS or submetering in place, price signals to consumers may be muted.
• Despite rising water and sewer costs, few properties have effectively used available information to carefully manage these costs.
• Current gaps in water conservation management offer large opportunities for the future.