Water Meters
We have had a water meter for about 3 years now and it has saved us a lot of money. We pay less than half of what we did on the rateable value system.
Our 6 month bill/summary came today and it seems that we generally use more water than the average household. In the last 6 months we have been away for about 12 weeks but have still used 28 cubic meters. This is considered average. In all previous 6 monthly
periods the usage has been around 43 cubic meters.
Just 2 of us living here, daily showers, never used our bath. Dishwasher on every 2 days, washing machine 3 times a week. Normal loo flushing
No garden watering but we use the hose pipe on the cars maybe every fortnight. Jet washing paving stones etc seasonally.
Just interested in some comparisons please.
Comments
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Best thing to be fitted ,our water company has installed or is in the process of fiiting them in all properties in their area, combined water and waste for us is £12 per month,
just wondering how they are going to raise their finance if everyones bills are "cheaper"
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.... just wondering how they are going to raise their finance if everyones bills are "cheaper"
Probably off me .... I refuse to have a meter on principle
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Are they ever going to get smart ones. My mums was almost impossible to check, which was required when the pipe work developed a leak. 60 cm down the bottom of a hole, no way could I look at it through the vary focal bit of my glasses. Especially as it was
partially underwater. User friendly they are not.0 -
My changeover to a meter was a good one. I did it a few years ago when given the option, my bill for the water was £340 it is now below £200. No car washing or garden watering but the rest I do-showers/dishwasher/reduced water loo flushes. It's a good system.
I send the readings to Yorkshire Water so I know it's accurate. Meters are nothing but positive as you're in control
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If anyone has actual 6 monthly usage figures I would be very interested to compare to ours. I really can't see that we are using more water than the average household.
Our meter is indoors so it would be noticeable if we had a leak. The meters are read remotely from the street.
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.... just wondering how they are going to raise their finance if everyones bills are "cheaper"
Probably off me .... I refuse to have a meter on principle
I would be interested to know what "principle" is involved that prevents anyone having a water meter? I have heard the argument from some that water is such an essential commoditiy you shouldn't pay for it in the first place but given that you either pay
via rateable value or measured supply I am not sure I follow that line of argument, especially if it was likely to be cheaper if its metered. However if the your rateable value is low and swapping to a meter would be more expensive I entirely see the point
but its not a principle, its just a decision?David
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If anyone has excessive bills you could always get the meter checked, we have had one faulty meter and check for leaks too, we had several.
We did that, and they did, but unfortunately although very nice on the phone and eventually paying back over £400 taken by DD, they could not organise the proverbial in a brewery. So unfortunately it was necessary to make our own checks. I struggled at my age, my mum at 90 had no chance. I am certainly not saying they are not a good idea. They just need to be easier to access. Particularly with an ageing population.
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Good point DK, I have just one principle when it comes to saving me money re utilities-it gives me pleasure so I'll do it
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.... just wondering how they are going to raise their finance if everyones bills are "cheaper"
Probably off me .... I refuse to have a meter on principle
I would be interested to know what "principle" is involved that prevents anyone having a water meter? I have heard the argument from some that water is such an essential commoditiy you shouldn't pay for it in the first place but given that you either pay via rateable value or measured supply I am not sure I follow that line of argument, especially if it was likely to be cheaper if its metered. However if the your rateable value is low and swapping to a meter would be more expensive I entirely see the point but its not a principle, its just a decision?
David
If you have a water meter installed and it turns out you are paying more, you can revert back to the rateable value method of payment within the first 12 months of having the meter installed.
If you move into a house with a meter installed you are stuck with it, you cannot change to rateable value in that instance.
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We have resisted installing a water meter. Big garden, full of expensive plants, two ponds, four vehicles to clean, four bikes to jet wash, we launder dog beds every week, used to keep chickens and ducks, and of course usual bathing/ laundering routines.
We are happy at the moment to stick with what we have got, we try and use as much rain water collected as we can for garden, but never enough. Mum had a meter installed years ago, daren't water her garden now!Living in Yorkshire, we seldom get a drought, so few restrictions on use luckily.
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TDA, if I was in your position I'd fight having a meter too. A meter to you can only be lose/lose.
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Yes that's our opinion Rocky as well. We are happy with what we pay, given that we never worry about our other hobbies, gardening, cars, cycling, animals. We have cut our other utility bills immensely, so our average across all bills is probably below most
folks. When we downsize and move elsewhere, then it will become an issue. I used a hosepipe on garden for first time in a year last night, usually do it by hand, from water butts, but I wanted to soak everything ready for next couple of scorching days!0 -
What's a water meter ?? I've never ever seen one !! What do they look like and are they fitted inside or outside the house. What purpose do they serve ??
K
My mums looks a bit like our old analog electric meter, with numbers that tick over showing cubic metres used and a little spinning thing showing water is flowing through at what speed. My mums is in the path in front of the house, in a 60 cm deep hole with a cover. As I said not very user friendly when you are 90. You get charged so much per cubic metre for the water and then a percentage of that for waste water, can't remember the figure I am afraid.
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Recently had a water meter installed dont know if it is saving any money. But it needed some pipe work altered so it was left for my tame plumber to install. While it was lying about at home I remembered hearing a story where I think thames water had fitted
loads to old houses and because they are plastic and because old houses could use the water pipes as an earth they instalation removed the path to earth. I tested mine and a far a I could see it didn't conduct. So I have bridged it with earthing wire0 -
Up here, water and sewerage are included on the Council Tax bill, so we are paying on some notional house value back in 1990-something, no account taken of actual use.
We would be better (cheaper) with a meter I think, as we currently pay over £800 per annum for water and sewerage.
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What's a water meter ?? I've never ever seen one !! What do they look like and are they fitted inside or outside the house. What purpose do they serve ??
K
..Look on the website of your local water company here in England they are very good at trying to save customers money,last year our company visited every domestic property and gave free advise and fitted for free water saving devices to all tops and new water saving shower heads to all that were compatable (not electric) and we had the option of the meter being installed inside ,or their prefered outside on the footpathrly reading to make the twice yearly reading easier,and installed for free in our area,if you like us are just two and go away a lot,it will pay ,we only pay £12 per month,and that includes sewerage
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Up here, water and sewerage are included on the Council Tax bill, so we are paying on some notional house value back in 1990-something, no account taken of actual use.
We would be better (cheaper) with a meter I think, as we currently pay over £800 per annum for water and sewerage.
Write your comments here...Scotish Water allow water meters -http://www.scottishwater.co.uk/you-and-your-home/your-home/thinking-about-a-water-meter/schedule-of-rates-meter-charges-1617 however you have to pay approx £125 survey fee plus installation. If
I was you I'd go for it based on my similar price saving as yours.0 -
As it happens, I had this conversation with a friend a few weeks back. He was telling me about the savings that they were making, after having a meter installed. I countered this, actually said that I wouldn't have a meter, on principle. Voluntary at the
moment, but like the 'serve yourself' tills in shops, quite likely to become compulsory if enough take them up.The principle being that large families on low incomes with a compulsorily installed water meter might take water savings to extremes. Not flushing toilets, not washing themselves or their clothes often enough. A risk to health, and unpleasant to live near
to.It is a bit daft that we use potable water on the garden, flushing toilets and washing cars, but realistically what other option is there, when talking about piped domestic water.
For our household, I doubt that a meter would make much difference, giving our annual Severn Trent bill of £318 per annum. Even if it did, we are talking trivial amounts of cash.
There has been a water leak in a nearby street for several months now. Water coming from an underground stop tap, straight into gutter and back down drain. ST must be aware, I saw their chaps going around with their 'listening sticks' the other week, probably
looking for other jobs to get done in one go.0 -
Just for information, we pay about £400 per year for water and sewerage. Just the two of us and a dog and a moderate garden but that is watered mainly from collected rainwater - but my wife does seem to have a fetish for washing clothes and the machine
is on virtually every day which may account for the relatively high bills.Last year, I re-lined and re-filled my pond in the garden - which has a capacity of about 25,000 litres. I was expecting a massive bill for the quarter during which I re-filled it and rang Yorkshire Water to try and get a reduction in sewerage charges for
that amount (bearing in mind sewerage charges are based on 95% of water used). Imagine my surprise when they wouldn't believe me because our water useage had been no more than for that quarter in previous years. What I hadn't allowed for was that last year
was the first year we had returned to caravanning and had been away for about 6 of those weeks! I am already seeing a significant reduction in water charges this year - but of course that is more than compensated for by the cost of site fees!0 -
As it happens, I had this conversation with a friend a few weeks back. He was telling me about the savings that they were making, after having a meter installed. I countered this, actually said that I wouldn't have a meter, on principle. Voluntary at the
moment, but like the 'serve yourself' tills in shops, quite likely to become compulsory if enough take them up.The principle being that large families on low incomes with a compulsorily installed water meter might take water savings to extremes. Not flushing toilets, not washing themselves or their clothes often enough. A risk to health, and unpleasant to live near
to.It is a bit daft that we use potable water on the garden, flushing toilets and washing cars, but realistically what other option is there, when talking about piped domestic water.
For our household, I doubt that a meter would make much difference, giving our annual Severn Trent bill of £318 per annum. Even if it did, we are talking trivial amounts of cash.
There has been a water leak in a nearby street for several months now. Water coming from an underground stop tap, straight into gutter and back down drain. ST must be aware, I saw their chaps going around with their 'listening sticks' the other week, probably
looking for other jobs to get done in one go.Write your comments here...Does the £380 include mains water AND treatment?
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..Look on the website of your local water company here in England they are very good at trying to save customers money,last year our company visited every domestic property and gave free advise and fitted for free water saving devices to all tops and new water saving shower heads to all that were compatable (not electric) and we had the option of the meter being installed inside ,or their prefered outside on the footpathrly reading to make the twice yearly reading easier,and installed for free in our area,if you like us are just two and go away a lot,it will pay ,we only pay £12 per month,and that includes sewerage
I am not surprised that their preferred location is outside on the footpath. If the same rules apply as Bristol Water, beyond the meter you are responsible for leaks. Fortunately after some argument, BW accepted it was their pipe work joint to the meter leaking and their responsibility. If it had been in the 4 metres of pipe between the meter and the house we would have had to sort / finance the repair.
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Up here, water and sewerage are included on the Council Tax bill, so we are paying on some notional house value back in 1990-something, no account taken of actual use.
We would be better (cheaper) with a meter I think, as we currently pay over £800 per annum for water and sewerage.
Write your comments here...Scotish Water allow water meters -http://www.scottishwater.co.uk/you-and-your-home/your-home/thinking-about-a-water-meter/schedule-of-rates-meter-charges-1617 however you have to pay approx £125 survey fee plus installation. If I was you I'd go for it based on my similar price saving as yours.
Just had a look at Scottish Water's charging structure, and based on average use for 2 people our saving could be about £75 per annum if we were home normally, obviously more if we are away say 25-30% of the time.
The small saving is due to the relatively high fixed charges, which are based on your CT band.
Even before we start using any water there would be....
Fixed water charge......£147.08
Fixed waste charge.....£151.04
Property Drainage.......£91.08
Roads drainage..........£91.08
So £480.28. PLUS the per cubic metre charge.
How come some of you pay only £12-£33 per month? What does that include?
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