Large sewerage charges

Will_Fix_It

I wonder if anyone can help. I'm pretty good at sorting things out, but this one's got me stumped. (Sorry it's a little involved!)

We bought a house in a village in mid Dorset last year and we knew it was not on mains sewers. A water meter has been fitted. It is an ex-council place built in 1930 and sold off in 1991. After that the only connection with the council was that they were in charge of the sewerage charges and repairs to same. Some time ago a Housing Association took over that job.
Last year we were paying £25 a month for the 'personal drainage' service charge. This year it's £31. They say it's to do with a sinking fund to help replace the treatment plant that serves 21 properties here (this was actually replaced in 2015 and they charged each of the 21 houses a huge £1300 approx contribution fee towards it). And they are 'allowed' to charge up to £32 per month if they want to.
The net result is that our annual water charge (as we are careful) is £80 and the sewerage charge is £376 - a somewhat insane disproportional amount.
The Housing Association refuses to entertain the notion that our water meter gives a clear indication of the amount of waste generated. In fact they said "It's not the amount anyway... we have to split the our costs equally between the houses served."
They also are of the crazy notion that if you add toilets to your house, you generate more waste, to put it politely. Yet that doesn't fit with the previous statement!
Something's not right here, but when I contacted the Consumer Council for Water, they replied with an answer that was wholly nothing to do with what I'd asked!!! Useless!

We continue to save money with almost everything else, but I keep running into walls trying to do something about this.

Any thoughts?!!!

anselld

Still sounds cheap at £376 and sewerage charge is generally much higher than supply. Certainly is where I live.

The point of the sinking fund is that you should not need a one-off charge the next time it needs replaced. Nothing to do with the recent replacement.

You lease should determine the method for apportionment between properties. If it states equal shares then you are stuck with that regardless how "careful" you are with disposals.

Badger50

Will_Fix_It wrote: »

We bought a house in a village in mid Dorset last year and we knew it was not on mains sewers.

Would that be Shitterton? In the Piddle valley? :rotfl:

ProDave

A lot of regulations are changing. In some situations an old septic tank has to be replaced by a treatment plant. But either will need periodic pumping out (desludging)

To put it into perspective, our own single treatment plant cost £2K plus installation (minimal because I did it myself), uses about £90 of electricity per year, and costs about £160 for a pump out every other year. So an average running cost of £170 per year. Then add maintenance if anything breaks.

Those are pretty much fixed costs and won't go down if we s$%t less.

Badger50

In my time in Dorset our facility was a bucket in an outhouse which father emptied into a pit (about 75 cubic cm) which he dug at the end of the garden. No electric light in the outhouse either. Great fun setting light to the hard shiny toilet paper with the lit candle. Happy days!

Back in the 21st century , if there was a possibility of your disconnecting from the sewer you might consider a modern composting toilet. Although I imagine it would cost .