is it normal for the water bill to be higher than electricity bill??

LindaS

Hi,

I live in a small one bedroom apartment with my bf. We recently got a water bill from Severn Trent for £120 (quarterly bill so for 3 months). We don't have a waterboiler so for instance for doing dishes we have to heat the water in a little boiler (2.5 litre capacity). So I though we used very little water. Also we're quite cheeky and do most of our laundry at my bf's parents house as we don't have space to do it in our apartment. We don't have a bath tub, we both shower every 2-3 days but our shower is really moody when it comes to temperature so I never spend more than 10 minutes in there.
For comparison, this bill is more than what we paid in electricity for the same period. Also its a bit confusing, as it charges for "water fallen on our property". What property is this exactly? We live in a tiny apartment with 16 other flats, there is a communal drive and parking lot though.
My bf thought this bill was high maybe it was for all the apartments and not just ours=P

What's normal to pay per month for water?

summervale

In some areas such as mine you can have two bills one for water delivery and one for removal of waste, sewerage etc.
Normally they are much the same cost, but recently my waste bill has been higher, by about £10 per month. Therefore for a 4 bedroom house with two occupants, I am paying £15 for water and £25 for Sewerage on a monthly Direct Debit scheme.
Do take it up with your suppliers.. Summervale.

Cardew

The size of your property doesn't matter if you are metered; your bills are based on how much water you use.

The average is 60 Cubic Metres per person per year. So for 2 of you the average would be 30 cubic meters for the quarter.

Look at your bill and see how much you used and in particular if either meter reading is estimated.



Water falling on your property is Surface water drainage. If you do a search on this forum you will find loads on this - you may not have to pay that charge. It is about £28 a year.

ender4

LindaS wrote: »

Hi,

For comparison, this bill is more than what we paid in electricity for the same period.
What's normal to pay per month for water?

i live in a small house with just my wife.
We pay £19/month for Electricity (British Gas - Click2 tariff),
and £30/month for Water (on water meter with Severn Trent).

We use average water i would say - both take showers everyday, washing machine nearly everday, but no dishwasher or watering the garden.

So yours sounds reasonable-ish, if you take into account the sewerage charge.

anony_mouse_5

LindaS wrote: »

Hi,

I live in a small one bedroom apartment with my bf. We recently got a water bill from Severn Trent for £120 (quarterly bill so for 3 months). Also its a bit confusing, as it charges for "water fallen on our property". What property is this exactly? We live in a tiny apartment with 16 other flats, there is a communal drive and parking lot though.
My bf thought this bill was high maybe it was for all the apartments and not just ours=P

What's normal to pay per month for water?

"water fallen on the property" refers to surface drainage which is billed as measured drainage.
This is rainwater that falls on any part of the property you occupy including roof, drive and any other part of the land that isn't permeable,If the water goes into the sewer system by direct or indirect means (private sewer, soakaway overflow) it is/you are connnected.
What should happen in cases like yours is that the roof and the carpark/drive are communal and the charge should be divided by 16 so you all pay a small part of the sum total.
There is no normal usage just an average.
Also if you didn't clear your last bill this gets carried over as well and they adjust the payment plan.
my advice read the meter weekly(only if safe to do so)
and log it in a diary and you will build up a case history of usage so you can see if your being billed accurately.

anony_mouse_5

ender4 wrote: »

i live in a small house with just my wife.
We pay £19/month for Electricity (British Gas - Click2 tariff),
and £30/month for Water (on water meter with Severn Trent).

We use average water i would say - both take showers everyday, washing machine nearly everday, but no dishwasher or watering the garden.

So yours sounds reasonable-ish, if you take into account the sewerage charge.

what type of house is it?
if its detached you pay more for SWD than a semi,bungalow or flat also as i said above check that any outstanding amount from the previous bill hasn't been carried over.
is it on a meter as well?
if not might be worth looking into.