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Water meter and sprinkler

13 replies

RacingSnake · 04/06/2010 20:48

Hi. Not sure where to post this, but has anyone got metered water and, if so, how much do you pay? Especially interested if you are a family of four who water their vegetable plot.

I am asking because our water company has said that if we use a sprinkler, we will have to change to a water meter. We are going away for a month in the middle of the summer and leaving my 85-year old mother to look after the garden - I can't expect her to carry cans of water to the runner beans!

Water company says that if we use a sprinkler without declaring it, they will find out and put us on a meter anyway. Could they find out? (Not that I was really thinking of illicit sprinkler use!)

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bubbles4 · 04/06/2010 20:51

What water company are you with?This is the first time I have heard of this,I dont think South West Water do it.

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taffetacat · 04/06/2010 20:57

Family of 4 here with veg plot and DC who luurve sprinkler. Had it on for an hour this afternoon. Water bill on meter about £200 pa.

< snigger > @ water co secretly spying on sprinklers. Oooo I'm scared. Not.

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RacingSnake · 04/06/2010 21:21

Wessex Water.

Not sure if £200 is more or less than I pay now.

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taffetacat · 04/06/2010 21:42

We noticed zero difference when we switched over to a meter. We aren't ridiculously wasteful but neither do we leave wee in the loo all day for a nightly flush.

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RacingSnake · 04/06/2010 21:44

Rushes off to flush loo.

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snorkie · 06/06/2010 12:08

depends where you are. Some water authorities are much much cheaper than others.

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EcoLady · 06/06/2010 15:05

Metering means that you pay for what you use, which is way fairer than using the ratable value of your house. Most people who switch to meters do save money and use less water because it simply makes you more aware of what you use.

Re your mum watering your garden while you are away - there are ways of doing that without wasting water and most definitely without using a sprinkler.

A hose is better than a sprinker - she could manage taking that round the garden and watering only where it's needed.

Water in the evenings when the sun's main heat has gone. That means you lose less to immediate evaporation.

Give a good soak and get the water deep into the soil. Again you lose less to evaporation and the plants send their roots deeper so they can cope better when things do get dry.

Before you go away, give everything a really good soak then mulch it with compost to give a layer to keep the moisture in. It also keeps weeds down.

Let your lawn get a little longer - that means deeper roots & less evaporation too.

Your water co would find out about a sprinkler if they either saw it themselves or a neighbour reported it. Some areas are more likely to have restrictions than others. If there were water usage restrictions in your area, then you could be fined for using an unlicensed sprinkler.

And if anyone's wondering ... yes, I do work for a water company!

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RacingSnake · 06/06/2010 19:06

EcoLady, great advice. I think I do most of that anyway - I would certainly never waste water by watering the lawn, but I hadn't really thought of mulching the beans before leaving and I have half a heap of compost left over. I am thinking of using soaker hose laid along the vegetable rows.

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Katymac · 06/06/2010 19:11

I'm thinking about the soaker hose too but I want to fit a siphon/pump to my bath & use the water in the summer to water the veg

Because I am sad

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RacingSnake · 06/06/2010 21:35

Thats actually a good idea. Wonder if it would work with a downstairs bathroom?

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Katymac · 06/06/2010 21:36

You would need a pond pump - but you can get solar powered ones

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RacingSnake · 06/06/2010 21:47

Daylight baths only then!

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Katymac · 06/06/2010 21:51

No - you just leave it in & pump the next evening

Or you could have a water butt

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