position of mains stop-tap

gem4

I read on S/Staffs website that they prefer to put the meter at the stop-tap point where the water enters the boundary of the property from the street.

I live in a 'square'. Our main stop-cocks are on the main pavement area in the street, all side by side, about 200yds away, with no indication of which is which until you turn them off one at a time to see who's water goes off :rolleyes:
In addition the tap is about 2 - 3 ft down the hole. I know this as the one and only time I've had cause to call them out to it, they couldnt find it. It was buried under 22 years of silt, dirt, grit, or whatever which had built up in the hole over time. They had to order another job to come and clear the hole to get to the tap.
They had mentioned when they came the first time that if they couldnt free up the ceased stop-tap they would have to dig the pavement up to be able to work on it (not my problem luckily).

Now, my question is, surely they are not going to attempt to put a meter down this hole?
The next stop-tap is under the sink unit in the kitchen..........in my brand new kitchen unit :eek:
It also mentions that they might have to take out kitchen units to fit a meter if that's where they're putting it....and might even have to put new pipework in :eek: :eek:
Also that if they need to put a new stop-tap in it will cost £20 in addition to the costs of removing units and pipework. So the 'free' water meter could prove a bit expensive.

Are these worst case scenarios? Has anyone had a problem with the positioning of their water meters? I have to say I dont relish the idea of being on my hands and knees on the pavement peering down a deep hole to read the meter, but I'm also not keen on having my kitchen unit dismantled either _pale_

deanos

Yes they will put a meter down that hole, they will replace it with a brand new meter chamber and meter and the stop tap will be made of plastic so it wont rust up in future, if they are grouped together they may replace them all with meter chambers or multi chamber ready to accept meters in the future