It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

maryb

Charis wrote: »

I'm puzzled. Unless you have a leaky sewer what water goes in the house should mostly come out via the sewerage system. The exceptions being any that you spray on the garden or if you have a 'soakaway' to drain off rainwater. As rainwater isn't metered, it doesn't factor in the equation.

Charis

That's what I mean - if you use water on the garden it doesn't go through the sewers so what comes in doesn't always go out. I should have explained that it is a condition of having a hosepipe licence in Thames Water areas that you go onto a meter (or it was when we switched, but that was back in the drought years). However, as I say, we don't use a lot so it's not that big a deal

Tregemred

Charis wrote: »

Ours works out at £19.50 per person per month - and one of those is more often away than here (at college all day, out overnight etc). But I do have a big garden, and my little veg beds get watered daily. The rest hardly gets watered at all, or via a watering can which uses far less, or so they say.

Incidentally, on the subject of watering the veg, I did once read (was it on the Down to Earth blog?) that you should avoid collecting water from roofs covered in tarry roofing felt, such as sheds and some older flat roofs, because of the chemicals which leach into the water.

Charis

We use cans too. Only food crops get any water and when the butts are empty, they have to fend for themselves. It is true that chemicals can leech from some roofing felt but we don't have butts on those sheds.

TGR

annie123

ceridwen wrote: »

There are ones that could beat that in some parts of the country.....

One point I am noticing from the posts is that people are counting what their water bill is per building - well ..thats how the Water Companies count as well..

However - I think a more "accurate" reflection of costs is to count "per person". Put like that - thats about £13 per person per month on this house.

Mardatha's bill is about £12.50 per person per month (2 person household)

PaganGirl's bill is the highest mentioned to date - at £14.50 per person per month (1 person household).

I cant tell with other people as to what their bill per person per month is - as I don't know how many people are in their household.

Never counted pp, would make mine, £8.33 pp pm for our maisonette:D
But my poor son in his studio flat is paying £14.16 pp pm :eek:as it's just him

Hippeechiq

Right - have just checked mine

This is for a 3 bedroomed house, 4 adults. We pay by direct debit

Sewerage £16.89pcm - £202.68 annually}
Supply/Usage £25pcm - £300.00 annually} TOTAL £502.68

So that makes me 2nd highest after ceridwen doesn't it?

Where abouts in the country are you ceridwen? I'm in Dorset

annie123

Hippeechiq wrote: »

Right - have just checked mine

This is for a 3 bedroomed house, 4 adults. We pay by direct debit

Sewerage £16.89pcm - £202.68 annually}
Supply/Usage £25pcm - £300.00 annually} TOTAL £502.68

So that makes me 2nd highest after ceridwen doesn't it?

Where abouts in the country are you ceridwen? I'm in Dorset

£10.47pp pm, that makes you one of the cheaper ones if done that way:)
and for The_cat it's £12.91pp pm which sounds better too.

Feel sorry for my son, might suggest his GF moves in, will 1/2 his cost!

icelandic_queen

You're all starting to frighten me!! Here in Northern Ireland we don't have water rates or Council Tax. We do have the old Rates system which seems to be cheaper than the Council Tax as I only pay 673.00 per year. The Water rates have been deferred for a few years now but think they'll be implemented sooner than we think!!

thriftmonster

icelandic_queen wrote: »

You're all starting to frighten me!! Here in Northern Ireland we don't have water rates or Council Tax. We do have the old Rates system which seems to be cheaper than the Council Tax as I only pay 673.00 per year. The Water rates have been deferred for a few years now but think they'll be implemented sooner than we think!!

AAAAAGGGHHH - I pay £1500 in rates here in Belfast - we did have the taper relief for 3 years but I'm on full whack now. But like you, I have a horrible feeling about the water rates coming in

Gigervamp

We don't have a water meter and we have a cess pit so we don't pay the water board for sewerage, but have to pay to get it emptied.

We pay just over £16 a month for the water but the cess pit costs £165 a time to be emptied. Fortunately this year with it being so dry, we haven't needed to empty it yet, but last year with all the rain, (and even though we have a water butt on one of the drain pipes) we had to get it emptied several times. At one point we had so much rain, it was only 6 weeks between emptyings! :eek:

Thats_me

Hi All, after my little rant of a few days ago (thanks for the kind comments) I am now feeling more upbeat. Me and OH had a long talk and look at finances and I am now more confident that we will be OK for a while. OH is on a small pension (he stopped work due to serious stress, 2 breakdowns, not a pretty sight!) so I have been the sole breadwinner for 7 years. The strange thing I have realised is that we could save an awful lot more money if I were at home, doing the things OH does not have time to do on his own. For example, after picking veg for dinner at the weekend, we grow most of our own, instead of all the peelings and trimmings going into the compost bin, I made soup, enough for 2 good meals each. So that is 4 dinners for nothing! Add that up during thw week and we certainly won't go hungry. Also, picking up fallen wood in the park for the burner. Now I am looking at it like a challenge, not a problem! These threads are an absolute life line. Thanks to all for contributing.

mardatha

That's the spirit pet, never let the bu**ers get you down. There is ALWAYS a way round a problem, you just have to find it.