Water meters - pros and cons?

Cardew

usignuolo wrote: »

We live in a largeish house with a chargeable value of £314 for water and another £314 for wastewater, which means our annual bill from Thames Water is nearly £500. The family has flown the nest so there are only two of us living here and I assume it would be cheaper to have a meter.

I have looked up what our consumption/bills would be with a meter and it looks like, for water, it would be the same cost but there is no indication of whether it would be lower or higher for wastewater.

Anyone able to recommend any sites where we can work this out.

The Thames water charges are here:

http://www.thameswater.co.uk/your-account/566.htm

The average consumption is around 55 cubic metres per person per year; so around 110 cubic metres for the two of you.

The charge for water is 128.43p per cubic metre and for sewerage 70.41p per cubic metre

There is a standing charge for water of £28pa and sewerage either £56pa or £31(depending on surface drainage)

So your annual bill is likely to be around £300 with average consumption.

The best thing is that in the unlikely event of metered charges being higher, you can revert back(within 12 months) to your present charges based on Rateable Value.

Bonefish_Blues

Also Thames Water...

Our house isn't metered and our RV means a bill of £850 pa for 2 adults and a child. Using the water usage modeller (including topping up the below), I reckon that would nearly halve with a meter.

Here's the kicker - there is a small swimming pool at the property, and has been for donkey's I believe - certainly long before we moved there, but nobody had declared it. As soon as the TW Agent heard this, she said "well you have to have a meter then". When pushed, she wasn't sure whether this went beyond TW's policy, and whether they have the Statutory power to install one in this circumstance.

I'm not anti-meter, but would like to trial one for 12months, and at my discretion to remove it if I choose.

Can anyone help to clarify this - I'll keep searching t'interweb, but haven't found the answer yet.

Thanks

ETA
Is there any way I could get a rebate on the sewerage element of the bill, in respect of the fact that a proportion of water was being used to fill a pool and therefore not going to waste?

Cardew

Every company insists on a meter for properties with swimming pools. For Thames:

Metering

All new and converted properties in our area have to be fitted
with meters. We are also fitting meters to all business premises
where this is practical. Our metering policy requires that all sprinkler users and swimming pool owners will be metered.

That is taken from their schedule of charges that have been approved by Ofgem.












Yes you can get a reduction on the sewerage element of your bill for swimming pools. See:

https://www.thameswater.co.uk/your-account/1352.htm

However they make you jump through hoops to get any rebate.

Bonefish_Blues

Cardew wrote: »

Every company insists on a meter for properties with swimming pools. For Thames:



That is taken from their schedule of charges that have been approved by Ofgem.

Yes you can get a reduction on the sewerage element of your bill for swimming pools. See:

However they make you jump through hoops to get any rebate.

Ofgem's a Statutory body, can approve policies, but doesn't make statute AFAIK. I am clear about TW's policy.

As far as I can see the industry is still regulated by the Water Industry Act 1991 and I can only see powers in S144 to implement a meter (against a consumer's wishes) upon change of ownership andprior to the first charge being made.

As I say I'm not anti-meter, I just want to install one on the same basis as every other consumer.

Anyone care to comment further on my reading of this?

On reading the swimming pool rebate I'm stymied on that one - in that I need a meter to be able to claim a rebate!

John_Pierpoint

Well the water company is not metering your sewage is it ? (Though in traditional historic parts of London, you might be feeding rainwater from the roof into the sewers and being charged for doing so.)
So you can haggle about the amount of drinking water you put into the swimming pool (but I think not if you are feeding drinking water to the lawn?)

As far flushing your toilet and using water in the garden, you could opt out by using your own bore hole or harvesting your rainwater.

Cardew

Bonefish_Blues wrote: »

Ofgem's a Statutory body, can approve policies, but doesn't make statute AFAIK. I am clear about TW's policy.

As far as I can see the industry is still regulated by the Water Industry Act 1991 and I can only see powers in S144 to implement a meter (against a consumer's wishes) upon change of ownership andprior to the first charge being made.

As I say I'm not anti-meter, I just want to install one on the same basis as every other consumer.

You may well be correct.

Why don't you challenge them in a court - swimming pool owners everywhere will be eternally grateful;)

Bonefish_Blues

Just to conclude this, Thames Water has agreed we can trial meter - they state that they would only seek to enforce enforce metering if the total volume was over 10,000 litres or there was an automatic topping-up mechanism.

amorphix

I've been pondering this very question myself, as a single person on unmetered and seeing those water bills increase significantly in recent years, like most people I'm sure!

I spoke to my mother about it the other day, she has had a meter fitted (lives alone too) and she claims her water bill has almost HALVED. So that's got my attention. HOWEVER she has showers, and I have baths. So maybe that could make a big difference, I don't know. I'm getting a shower fitted though soon and can easily switch over if using showers saves money.

Since it's free to have a meter, and can save you SOME money, its surely a no brainer if you're a single person?

For families, or large water users, I think you need to think more carefully and do the numbers. It may save you money, but you may need to modify/reduce wastage and adjust your lifestyle? Maybe some will struggle to do that in a large family, and would be better off just paying a fixed rate annual fee.


NOTE: I thought the gov were planning to make these meters compulsory for all households at some point?

Cardew

amorphix wrote: »

NOTE: I thought the gov were planning to make these meters compulsory for all households at some point?

That was the idea when the Water Privatization Act was being discussed.

All properties post April 190 were to have meters fitted, and change of occupant after that date would mean a compulsory meter fitted.

However the Act didn't make the latter provision mandatory; just gave the water companies the power to enforce that provision. Hence some companies don't bother with enforcement.

The water companies' revenue is guaranteed regardless of their customers being charged on the basis of their Rateable Value or consumption measured by a meter.

matelodave

I was having a look at the Anglian Water website and was surprised at the cost of unmetered water & sewerage - the standing charges alone come to £482 plus £0.403 per £ of rateable value.
Metered the SC is £116 plus £3.00 per cu.m (water & 90% sewerage), so you've got to use at least 125 cu.m to make unmetered worthwhile
We use about 70 cu.m so are saving at least £156 by being on a meter. I can't remember what our RV is but whatever it is it makes our saving even more.