Water meter

keystone

dorsetlady wrote: »

Also, I'm sure there would be hardly any water shortages if everyone was metered.

Ooops! The water companies lose 3 billion yes billion litres of wholesome water every single day of the year through leakage in their supply pipes. The biggest culprit is Thames Water with getting on for 900,000 litres. The biggest culprit per customer is Yorkshire which loses some 130 litres every day for every household it actually supplies. But its estimated it would cost £1Bn to replace all the supply pipes in the UK and even then that wouldn't totally stop the leakage. Not sure your argument holds water. (pun intended - sorry!)

Cheers

Shawn_Dark

macman wrote: »

No, you can't-this is a public forum.

Whats that got to do with closing a thread? Other websites have public forums and threads can be closed (for no further commenting).

HappyMJ

Abu_Yoosha wrote: »

Whats that got to do with closing a thread? Other websites have public forums and threads can be closed (for no further commenting).

and this forum has not enabled that feature...threads remain open for discussion by anybody...

ChimpyChompy

Don't close this thread it's very interesting!
Not all water companies fit meters when you move anymore (they used to when there was a government incentive), but as stated you can't change back if you already have one. It's not the fairest system at the moment, but given the water shortages this year it seems inevitable that water companies will introduce compulsory metering soon (and shock those non-metered people using as much water as they like!).
At least the Water Industry is more heavily regulated than other utilities so they can't just hike the prices up whenever they want!

bargainbetty

dorsetlady wrote: »

My complaint is that I don't want to be on a meter so why should I be forced to be when others are not.

If you take on a new property it will have a meter. If you take on a property where the owner had a meter fitted more than 12 months previously, you will not have the choice either. You can seek out a place to live without one, if it means that much to you.

Personally, I think everyone should be on a meter and will be quite happy when they become mandatory. Pay for what you use - always the fair option. I don't see why a person living alone should be charged the same as a three person household - we should pay for what we use.

Shawn_Dark

HappyMJ wrote: »

and this forum has not enabled that feature...threads remain open for discussion by anybody...

Shame, it makes it good in one sense, but poor in another.

PurpleGoldFish

Very interesting thread...

Personally, I'm a fan of the meter. Before the meter my charge was nearly £26PM, now I'm paying £16.25.

Crabman

If consumers have to have water meters, the water companies should have to have them too.

Water can be metered as it leaves the supply plant (yes, this is technically feasible) and metered as it enters customers' homes.

Customers would continue to pay for their usage and for any leaks on/in their property.

Water companies, however, would have to refund their customers proportionally for every litre of water lost through leaks in their pipes.

This would be a fairer system than holding households accountable for usage whilst water companies have no meaningful accountability to customers for leaks within their network.

phill99

ChimpyChompy wrote: »

. It's not the fairest system at the moment]

how can it not be the fairest system? You pay for what you use. It's ad simple as that.

You pay for what you use in gas, electricity, telephones, oil, petrol, food and every other consumable.

What people don't like is they have to now face up to paying for what they use. Cross subsidising doesn't exist in any other utility and it needs to stop in water usage. It will have a huge impact on the amount of water used and hence the need for reservoirs etc.

You wouldn't leave a light on in a room if you weren't in there because you pay for it, but you're quite happy to leave a tap running all the time ou are brushing your teeth, simply because you don't pay for it.

murphydog999

phill99 wrote: »

how can it not be the fairest system? You pay for what you use. It's ad simple as that.

You pay for what you use in gas, electricity, telephones, oil, petrol, food and every other consumable.

What people don't like is they have to now face up to paying for what they use. Cross subsidising doesn't exist in any other utility and it needs to stop in water usage. It will have a huge impact on the amount of water used and hence the need for reservoirs etc.

You wouldn't leave a light on in a room if you weren't in there because you pay for it, but you're quite happy to leave a tap running all the time ou are brushing your teeth, simply because you don't pay for it.

Well said :T