Water Meter

[smurfchops]

Found a letter sent by Thames Water in April last year, asking if I want to have a water meter. They reckon my bills will be halved. Could this be true ? Is it worth it ? What uses the most water by the way ?

[atalanta]

It is more difficult to sell a house with a water meter, as the next owners do not want to be saddled with a meter, and without the choice, especially if they have a big family

[DaisyNonna]

First floor flat, ground floor garden. No way I can water the garden without my water butt. Oh for the luxury of a hose pipe instead of lugging a watering can. Water is heavy!
Live in Southern Water area. No choice but to have a meter.

[sherrardk]

We live in a rented house that has a way meter - we pay £45 a month but I do loads of washing.

[boxtops]

atalanta, the rule round here now is that every time a property changes hands, a water meter is fitted before the new people move in. There is therefore no choice.

[Buenchico]

For comparison, I live on my own and I'm extremely frugal with water. I've no washing machine - 'cos I use a laundrette - and no dishwasher. I hardly ever flush the loo, per se, since I tip waste water (from washing myself and from washing up) down it instead.

My last 6-mothly bill was for £8.27, averaging just £1.38 per month.

Chris

[seadogg]

Good for you Chris for using "grey" water. Its criminal how much pure drinking water we tip down the bog.

[HowardKennitby]

Chris

Have you ever heard of the word 'tightwad'?

[hc4361]

Don't be complacent about power showers. They can easily use as much, or more, than a bath,

[DaisyNonna]

Single person, washing machine twice a week, showers not bath. No car to wash, water butt for garden, wash-up once a day. £45 a month.

[hc4361]

Daisy - that's on a meter? Shocking.

[Buenchico]

Daisy:
You've got a leak somewhere!

A single person shouldn't be paying more than about a tenner a month for water, at the most. Sherrardk has 7 people in her house and is paying the same amount as you!

[DaisyNonna]

No meter yet. Hope I can make some savings with one. Does this mean I have been overpaying for the past nine years?

[boxtops]

I can't understand andyvon's local prices - I now pay about the same as zacs on a meter, we're not wasteful but we use what water we need, we're not stingy with it.

Chris - not a tightwad, just a man on a budget (as with your catering) - I wish I had your frame of mind sometimes.

[diddlydo]

We're with Thames water. 2 of us, each a shower every day, dishwasher every day, washing machine 3-4 times per week, wash car and water garden when necessary. Our metered bills are about one third what we used to pay when flat rate charge.

[boxtops]

Probably daisy, it's worth getting a check - before I was paying on a meter, mine was in a row of 5 houses on the same in-feed. The men who used to check the flow found that (completely unknown to me) I had a leak under the boiler in the outhouse, I was losing 5 bathfulls of water an hour, dreadful waste. They put me on a meter then, but I haven't looked back. If you lived near me, you'd be paying less than £10 a month on a meter.

[Buenchico]

Daisy:

No it probably doesn't mean that you've been 'overpaying' in terms of whether you've been charged the correct 'non-metered' prices.

But it does mean that you could have saved a great deal of money by getting a water meter fitted! You shouldn't have to wait for the local water company to act; you should be able to ask them to fit a water meter a.s.a.p.

[237SJ]

I`ve just looked at my bill. From 20 Sept to 1st Dec it came to £23.81. I`m not here for about half of the month but that`s still cheap. I`m forever doing washing in the machine as well. Thames Water is quite inexpensive compared to some. My mum paid nearly £600 per year with r South West Water. Criminal.

[Andyvon]

It seems there's quite a variation in water prices around the country. Another postcode lottery I suppose.

We pay £29 a month which I didn't think was too bad (compared to when I was in Grimsby!). It seems that's much more than people like Boxtops. All I can say is that the water company assessment said that we would probably triple our cost if we had a meter. We are at home all day and use whatever we like so maybe that's a reason.

[HowardKennitby]

Daisy

I agree with Chris, that is an absurd price for one person to be paying for water. I would investigate getting a meter as soon as possible.

[craft1948]

I live on my own, have showers not baths, have a sprinkler system for the lawns when they get too dry, and pay £11.00 per month to Yorkshire Water.