Water meters - pros and cons?

John_Pierpoint

Here in Essex - the driest county - my annual water bill for a household of two is about £120; payable to Essex & Suffolk Water Co, the subsidiary of a French company. Charges have been going up like the other utility bills recently, probably because of the extra amount of housing we are being forced to accept.

Historically the SW was an area of rural poverty and outward migration. [I am the great grandson of a West Dorset yeoman farmer] It got by drinking spring water, with any sewer pipes running directly into the sea. Now that is it receiving massive summer influxes of summer visitors plus a housing demand from white collar jobs and retirees, plus strict water treatment standards - small wonder it now has the highest water charges. [Suggest a composting toilet to the wife?:rotfl:]

I don't pay sewerage charges as I have my own sceptic tank. On a gently sloping pasture hillside, nothing will reappear and nothing will come back again [Beware of building a house down hill of another in such circumstances, it might suffer "subsidence" problems].
If I was connected to the local sewer, I probably would be paying Thames Water another £75 based on the theory that 90% of what comes in goes out again.
The charge per cubic metre (=1,000 litres = 1 tonne) is about £1.25. for the supply of drinking water; plus an annual connection charge of £37.
Watering the garden gets expensive, especially if the sewer authority gets a charge too. So if you want a green lawn think about water harvesting or a bore hole. [I have a simple plumbing system that deposits both bathroom and kitchen into the same drain - so in summer I collect the "grey" water for watering the plants.]

Just check SWW's equivalent charges, so you have feel of what you will be spending.

Households vary widely; it seems generally accepted that having teenage girls and multiple bathrooms, complete with power showers, creates a massive difference.:D

gbru2505

I don't agree with getting a meter installed unless you live in a property that will never house more than one person. I live in a house with two other adults and our metered bill with United Utilities is £600 per year!!! We have a water butt and employ every standard reasonable water saving measure available. It's a joke. When the companies display the average bill for metered households it doesn't apply to the average sized household, so it's misleading. The consumer council don't want to know about this and don't care quite frankly. If you get a meter installed in a three bed house because you're living alone, every family that lives there after you will get ripped off because they can't have it removed and it'll be your selfish fault. Don't listen to Martin's advice please. Society does exist and we can work together to fight the rip-off. DON'T DO IT PLEASE.:cool:

silvercar

For comparison we have a rateable value of £492. Council band G.

Water usage non-metered at £0.5239 + standing charge of £41.40 from Affinity Water.

Sewerage £0.4534 + standing charge of £46 from Thames Water.

(Both on same bill, Affinity bill on behalf of Thames.)

Total bill £568.23.

4 of us in the house, including 2 teenagers who spend at least 20 minutes in the shower each day.

We live in a compulsory metering area but there is no stopc0ck in the road, so they decided to non-meter us when we moved in. I think now we could request a meter that would be fitted internally, but with out usage I don't think it would be cheaper.

Cardew

silvercar wrote: »

For comparison we have a rateable value of £492. Council band G.

Water usage non-metered at £0.5239 + standing charge of £41.40 from Affinity Water.

Sewerage £0.4534 + standing charge of £46 from Thames Water.

(Both on same bill, Affinity bill on behalf of Thames.)

Total bill £568.23.

4 of us in the house, including 2 teenagers who spend at least 20 minutes in the shower each day.

We live in a compulsory metering area but there is no stopc0ck in the road, so they decided to non-meter us when we moved in. I think now we could request a meter that would be fitted internally, but with out usage I don't think it would be cheaper.

Your 'low' charges of £568 demonstrate just how much prices vary across the UK.

In my area - Severn Trent - with a RV of £492 the charges would be £1,112

In the South West with the same RV you would pay £2,616!

MillicentBystander

I'm sure it's been mentioned already (haven't read the whole thread!) but should you have a water meter fitted, decide within 12 months it isn't for you and go back to RV charging, should you sell the house subsequently the metering system is then compulsorily re-initiated for the new occupiers (and there's no going back to RV option for them). Just something to bear in mind if you are thinking of selling up (I only found this out last week).

Froggie123

I was told that if you can show after having a meter fitted that u were paying too much before then u can get refunded, has anyone done this?

Cardew

Froggie123 wrote: »

I was told that if you can show after having a meter fitted that u were paying too much before then u can get refunded, has anyone done this?

That is not correct, you cannot get anything refunded.

Before getting a meter fitted you would be charged on the basis of your Rateable Value(RV). Whilst the amount you were paying on RV might be more than metered, it is not 'too much'; it will be the correct charge.

Jib111

Froggie123 wrote: »

I was told that if you can show after having a meter fitted that u were paying too much before then u can get refunded, has anyone done this?

The poster above is correct however what you might be thinking of is that you have up to 12 months to change back to RV billing if you find the new method to be expensive. Though you should try and workout savings before you switch.

JennyJames

scootermacc wrote: »

Does anyone have any experience or advice on whether gettnig a water meter might save money or not?

I have a natural reluctance against the idea in case my billis astronomical, but this is emotion not fact.

Anyone help?

With my experience what i can say is that the installation of a water meter proves to be expansive...

Cardew

JennyJames wrote: »

With my experience what i can say is that the installation of a water meter proves to be expansive...

The OP's post was nearly 9 years ago; so I hope he has made up his mind by now;)

Quite obviously some people gain from getting a meter - others would lose.

The Rateable Value(RV) of the property and number of occupants are the main factors.