Will an ADU in Rowland Heights need its own water meter?

You’re planning an ADU, or looking at a home that already has one, and the water meter raises a question: can the unit use the home’s existing service? If your home is served by Rowland Water District, the answer depends on how the ADU fits the district’s policy. A separate meter isn’t required for every ADU.

The district’s policy, effective May 15, 2024, sets out when it may require a new meter and fees, and when it may not. Your project’s answer comes from the district’s review of the required documents.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Which office decides the water-service requirements?

Rowland Water District decides water-service requirements for ADUs within its jurisdiction. Its Board of Directors adopted the policy effective May 15, 2024.

The policy cites state ADU law; this guide relies on the district’s own policy wording, not on the statutes themselves.

Rowland Heights is unincorporated and has no city government. Los Angeles County Planning handles land use, as discussed in the Rowland Heights RV parking and front-yard rules guide. The district’s water policy doesn’t decide whether your lot can have an ADU, establish county permit rules or address sewer service.

Start by confirming that your home receives water from the district. Don’t assume that a Rowland Heights address alone answers that question.

For broader context, the ADU rules guide addresses the larger topic. Keep the water-service review separate from the land-use questions involved in your project.

I worked with a Rowland Heights homeowner who assumed an ADU could simply use the house’s existing water connection. The design itself fit on the property, but the water-service requirements still had to be confirmed with the district. That conversation reminded him that county approval of an ADU plan does not answer every utility question.

What do you need to submit?

You need to submit a copy of approved engineering drawings and a Water Supply Fixture Unit worksheet so district staff can review the ADU’s water-service needs.

The worksheet determines the total water supply fixture units, or WSFUs, in the ADU. Staff review the drawings and worksheet to determine whether the ADU requires a new water service and whether a capacity charge applies. They also consult the planning agency.

The district’s ADU page lists the Water Supply Fixture Unit worksheet, Water Service Application, and policy and resolution effective May 15, 2024.

If new service and a capacity charge apply, staff provide a written estimated cost proposal covering water capacity fees and new service installation fees. They also provide a new service installation agreement and a new water service application request form. Those documents give you the district’s project-specific requirements.

When can an ADU use the existing meter?

An ADU that meets all the policy’s specified space, access and setback conditions is not subject to a new meter, connection fee or capacity charge, subject to the exceptions below.

The conditions are:

• The ADU is within the proposed or existing space of a single-family dwelling or accessory structure.
• The space has exterior access from the proposed or existing single-family dwelling.
• Side and rear setbacks are sufficient for fire and safety.

The district may still impose a new meter and those charges if the ADU was constructed with a new single-family dwelling, on separate sale or conveyance of the ADU, or on separate conveyance of the primary dwelling and ADU as condominiums.

The policy allows an expansion of no more than 150 square feet beyond the existing accessory structure’s physical dimensions, limited to ingress and egress. The expansion must serve that purpose, and the ADU must meet the other conditions.

The policy also says an ADU isn’t considered a new residential use for calculating district connection fees or capacity charges unless it was constructed with a new single-family dwelling.

When may the district require a separate meter?

The district may impose a new meter, connection fees and capacity charges when the ADU falls into one of the policy’s listed categories.

Those categories include an ADU constructed with a new single-family dwelling, a separate sale or conveyance of the ADU, or separate conveyance of the primary dwelling and ADU as condominiums.

The district may also impose those requirements when the ADU doesn’t meet the space, exterior-access or setback conditions described above. These categories identify when the district can impose requirements; they don’t establish the bill for a particular project.

The district’s older brochure also treats unpermitted structures as new construction. Use the 2024 policy for the governing conditions. If an existing structure’s permit history is unclear, the guide to disclosing unpermitted work in California provides related reading.

Does a junior ADU have different rules?

Under the district’s policy, junior ADUs are not subject to separate meter requirements, connection fees or capacity charges.

The policy defines a junior ADU as no more than 500 square feet and contained entirely within a single-family residence. It says these units aren’t considered separate or new dwelling units for these water-service requirements.

Calling a unit a junior ADU doesn’t establish that it fits the policy; its size and location within the residence matter.

The policy separately addresses fire sprinklers. It says no fire sprinklers may be required in an ADU if they aren’t required in the primary residence. That provision doesn’t replace the district’s review of the water-service documents.

How are fees determined and service installed?

The policy bases connection fees or capacity charges on the ADU’s burden on the district’s water system, with the applicable amount addressed through the district’s review.

It says the charge must be proportionate to that burden, based on either square footage or drainage fixture unit values defined in the Uniform Plumbing Code. It also says the charge cannot exceed the reasonable cost the district incurs in providing service to the ADU.

The district’s older brochure describes the installation steps after the proposal: the applicant pays the fees and submits the signed agreement and application, the district processes payment and schedules work, new service is constructed, and the district installs the meter so service begins. These steps come from the older brochure; the 2024 policy governs the conditions.

The district office is at 3021 Fullerton Road, Rowland Heights, CA 91748.

What should you check before buying or selling?

You should ask for the ADU’s permit history and ask the district whether a separate meter or fees were required.

The policy doesn’t state what a buyer of a home with an existing ADU owes. A meter’s presence or absence alone doesn’t answer that question.

The policy does state a consequence for an ADU subject to a new meter, connection fees and capacity charges: if the required meter isn’t installed or charges aren’t paid when due, the district shall terminate water service to the primary single-family dwelling until the requirements are completed, under its Rules and Regulations.

The short version

Your ADU’s meter requirements depend on the district’s policy conditions and review of the approved drawings and fixture worksheet. ADUs that meet the stated space, access and setback conditions, and junior ADUs, are not subject to a new meter or those charges under the policy, with the exceptions above.

For an existing ADU, gather the permit history and ask the district what was required.

If you’re also considering a sale, start with the home value tool.