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 ?

[HowardKennitby]

Your bill will depend on how many people live in your house. If there are two of you + 3 kids doing lots of washing, showers etc then meter may be more expensive.

[smurfchops]

Two adults, bath instead of showers, dishwasher and washing machine on every other day.

[The Builder]

I agree with Howard. One or two people who shower more than bathe, then definitely cheaper.

[The Builder]

Also ...... how much it's used in the garden.

[sunny-dave]

Water meters are immoral - the concept that, in an island country which is awash with the bl**dy stuff, anyone should ever be worried about a water meter racking up the bills and so feel they have to cut down on their water use for bathing and toilets is ridiculous.

Water is a basic necessity of life - a fixed charge per household is the only acceptable way of charging for it.

If the useless, inefficient, profiteering water companies spent less time trying to flog us crap we don't need and more time fixing leaks there would never be any question of water shortages.

Which doesn't mean we should waste water - I'm all in favour of 'showering with a friend' ;+)

[smurfchops]

Must admit I water the garden in the summer ... quite a lot ... will have to think about this one.

[237SJ]

I went on a water meter with Thames Water last year. They made a cack handed job of attaching it to the water supply and my first bill was £1000 due to a leak. That`s another story though. I have saved a fortune but my lifestyle isn`t very average so I wouldn`t be a good example of what you can save. The thing is though, with Thames water you can change your mind and have the meter taken out after one year if you want so you can`t lose really. Trial it for a year and then decide.

[smurfchops]

Intrigued about your lifestyle 23, dont you use much water ?

[old-wos-is-name]

don't have a meter, you will not be able to go back.once its fitted, thats you, you cannot decide after the next bill that you don't like it.
you will think twice about watering the garden,you will not want to flush the loo, not wash veg, not wash the car, you will tell the kids to share the bath. its strange that the water company are telling you that they are trying to save you money, they have shareholders to think of. don't do it, the government has told them that they can't force you to have a meter, so they are trying the soft approach. take my word. say no.

[gsr600]

"WHAT USES THE MOST WATER"
my other half when she washes up - lets the tap run cold whiilst washing things & rinsing 1 item at a time even a knife ( I kid you not )
I try to clean most things in the bowl before i rinse off.
then she will run the cold tap later to fill kettle,
then run it cold for a while before she fills a water bottle for the fridge DOH,
then my boy starts with his 30 minute showers 3 times a week,
If they put me on a meter I know who's gonna pay for it.

[gingejbee]

With Thames Water you have a year to decide whether it's for you. They do not remove the meter (if you don't want metered accounts) - they simply revert to your previous fixed amount billing.

[jackthehat]

We paid water rates in our last house.
Now 10 years later, albeit in a different house, and still running our household the same way, our water meter bills have *still* to reach the previous levels.

[woofgang]

Southern water will not remove them once fitted and they indicate on their website that they will be insisting that their customers all have them by 2015

[seadogg]

We actually paid to have one fitted years ago when the kids left the nest and iit proved a great saving. We dont smell too bad but in the garden are 3 water butts which have seen the garden through the summers. As to the car, it gets a bucket or two every now and then. Its a myth that we have plenty of water. The South East could be in crisis in very dry conditions.

[Andyvon]

Don't touch a water meter Smurfchops!

I spent three years in Grimsby and every house had to have one fitted when I was there. I lived alone in a small flat but my water bill doubled, despite me really cutting down on water usage. I didn't know anyone who's bills went down and the average family bill went up by a factor of three or four. I got to know many families who only used the washing machine once every two weeks! Most people stopped flushing the loo and I only flushed mine twice a day. I joined most of my neighbours in walking across to Sainsbury's every time we wanted to go to the loo! How dare a water company do that to people!

Now I live with my wife in a house in Bucks, our bill is £29 a month and we use as much water as we like. Two of my retired neighbours live by themselves and they had meters fitted recently but their bills have increased, despite them cutting down on use. My wife and I both have two showers a day (more in the summer) and we use the washing machine once a day I suppose. We had an assessment from the water company last year and they advised us to stay off a meter as they estimated our bill would triple if we had one! When I asked why some people say their bills are lower they said it's because those people don't wash their clothes or themselves very much - they don't use water! Certainly our retired neighbour stopped hanging washing out last year and she says she can't afford to use the washing machine now.

I agree with Sunny Dave. Although other areas of the world suffer droughts we live in one of the most water abundant countries in the world. To say we have to cut back on the most basic commodity of life which we've always used freely is unacceptable. 79% of water is lost from leaks between pumping stations and homes so it's up to the water companies to sort that out before trying to make us feel guilty for using water. A large amount of water is also wasted by those people who use dishwashers as they use several gallons of water per cycle as opposed to a single bowl or sinkful when washing up by hand.

If you aren't sure of water meters Smurf then ring your water company and arrange for them to do an assessment over the phone for you. They'll ask you how many showers/baths you have, how many times you use the washing machine, water the garden, wash the car etc. Then they'll tell you how much your bill would be on a meter. Don't listen to those who say you save money - I'll bet your estimate doubles or triples. Good luck.

[gingejbee]

Andyvon: 79% of water in the distribution system lost because of leaks? Not in England - the typical figure over the several water supplying companies is 22%. Still unacceptable I agree.

[owdhamer]

i used to live in a flat with a water meter, but as i worked long hours ,7 days a week and showered at work it hardly registered caused some head scratching

[Oiverbotel]

I'm concerned. I agree with sunny-dave. The water companies waste copious amounts of water, but more concerning is that with a meter I fear that water will soon be treated like oil or gold even. Personally, I intend to fight it as long as I can. Whilst we are extremely conscious about saving water, we do not wish anyone looking into our home and seeing what we use and when we use it and how much of it we use. More advance meters will soon have tier rates where we pay a higher fee for peak usage, just as with electricity. I have a quickly diminishing confidence in our government and what it does in the name of its people!

[boxtops]

smurf, we had a water meter fitted four years ago and we have saved so much, I pay about a tenner a month now for incoming water. There are two of us, I use the washing machine about four times a week, dishwasher every day, hose the garden when it needs it, bath when we want to. I wouldn't go back to an unmetered supply, we were paying way over the odds before.

[Zacs-Master]

We save about £300 a year with a meter.