Sewerage bill (Wessex Water) much higher than water bill

ryanincontrol

Hi.

First time poster but a frequent visitor.

Reason for my posting is that I noticed my Sewerage bill is way more than my water bill, is this normal for Bournemouth residents?
I live in a 3 bedroom end terrace (built in 1986).
2 adults and a child.
Bills are paid through direct debit.

My bills for 2017 - 2018 are as follows:
Water bill is provided by Bournemouth Water = £170 (unmetered)
Sewerage is with Wessex Water = £350.

According to my sewerage bill service charge RV is 219 x 156.79p = £343.37
+ standing charge of £7 per year = £350.37

No soakaway rebate as only the back pipes lead to the garden. Anyhow, rebate is only about £20 so haven't bothered to change the front pipes of the property.
My sewerage bill has always been higher than my water bill ever since we moved here in 2006. Can anyone shed any light why is this so?

Many thanks,
Ryan

Cardew

With several companies sewerage bills are very often higher than water bills - both for metered and unmetered properties. It depends on the cost to maintain the sewerage infrastructure.

If you want to make your eyes water, look at South West water charges

http://www.southwestwater.co.uk/media/pdf/l/a/Household_Charges_Scheme_2016-17.pdf

whatarethescores

Your charges look about right per both charges schemes for 2017-18.

Also Bournemouth Water's water supply charges are much lower than Wessex's. If Wessex were supplying both your water and taking away your wastewater, you'd be looking at annual water supply charges of £409 instead of your £170 and a total bill of £759ish.

As cardew states, the difference is down to the difference in cost to maintain the respective parts of the network in the different areas, which could be impacted by sources of water, density of population etc.

ryanincontrol

Thank you for your replies. Very helpful.
Glad to know I am not overpaying.

spiro

Do you realise you can have a water meter fitted and revert to RV billing within a year if you find it's going to cost you more? Most water companies have a ready reckoner to give you an idea what a bill would be if you have a meter based on a number of questions.

ryanincontrol

Im not too concerned about my water bill as for a family of 3 I think £170 per year is fine (10 years ago I was paying £154 / yr).
Although, if I get a water meter will it change my sewerage cost as well?
Let say, if it turned out my fresh water consumption is lower (or higher) would my waste water cost become lower (or higher) than what I pay now?

Cardew

ryanincontrol wrote: »

Im not too concerned about my water bill as for a family of 3 I think £170 per year is fine (10 years ago I was paying £154 / yr).
Although, if I get a water meter will it change my sewerage cost as well?
Let say, if it turned out my fresh water consumption is lower (or higher) would my waste water cost become lower (or higher) than what I pay now?

Yes both your water and sewerage charges will be based on the cubic metres(m3) of water supplied; plus standing charges.

The average water consumption in UK is 55m3 per person per year - although many people seem to use far less - so you can easily get an estimate of your charges based on an estimate of 165m3. As stated above if you find metering more expensive, you can revert to your current method of charging which is based on your Rateable Value(RV)