There’s a funny thing about residential water customers, says Folsom senior utility engineer Todd Eising. 
 
“When you install water meters," Eising says, "there is a significant savings that people have.  They conserve water more by having metered rates than if they did not.”
 
That’s one reason the city wants to start charging its ratepayers based on how much water they use.  The other?  A state law passed four years ago requiring Folsom (and many other Central Valley cities) to meter their water by the year 2013.
 
Now, the city hopes to get it done a year earlier, but that’s still five years away – including one year for residents to adjust their water use to their new rates.
 
Meanwhile, a separate state law orders Sacramento to do the same thing – but it has until 2025.