So now it's a drought on the way as well - AIBU to think water meters should be compulsory

[cakeorwine]

www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/31/drought-water-queues-uk-hosepipe-ban-compulsory-metering

Low levels of water supply.
Reservoirs drying up
Farmers having issues with watering crops.

The average household with a water meter uses 33 litres a day. Those without use 141 litres a day (on average)

The UK has the highest water consumption in Europe

OTOH - water companies lose 3 billion litres a day in leaks

We have a water meter - and it does make you think that if you are paying for the volume you use, you use less.

And it does seem unfair that people can use more of the same product from the same company but not get charged for the amount they use.

OTOH - there are households who would suffer if they had reasons why they used a lot of water and that could affect their health.

But then again, there are people who don't care about their water usage as they aren't paying per litre.

We are facing a drought - and climate change will affect water supply going forward. So maybe it is time for a look at compulsory metering WITH a look at cost per 1000 litres and a sensible look at circumstances of households.

They are compulsory where I live.

I think all houses have them now just if the person living there when they moved in rejected it, it can’t be turned on as such till someone new moves in.

also we have a locked in water rate despite being on a meter so makes no difference here. Also getting sewage rebate for having a large pool and lawn watering. You can also get a meter put on an outside tap and all water that goes though that gets the sewages rebate.

i think the article actually says households with a meter use 33L less than the average of 141L, so 108L. A much smaller difference than you quote.

FWIW I do support compulsory water metering but I also think that suppliers need to focus on fixing leaks before restricting household use. We have water flowing down streets near us like mini rivers fairly frequently - I can’t believe that in comparison me having a shorter shower or not watering the garden would make a difference.

In our old house we begged them to give us a meter and they wouldn’t. We were paying twice as much non-metered than we are now and we don’t use any less water. In fact I suspect we use significantly more.

The biggest issue is the terrible infrastructure that we have. The water companies have been atrocious at maintaining it to a standard where we don’t lose 3 million litres a day.

Given that, all this stuff about water meters and insisting that people cut down etc seems to be targeting the wrong issue really. The government should never have allowed this situation to develop frankly.

We don't have one here (just because there wasn't one when we moved in). The last place we rented had one and our bill there (on a meter) was a third of what it is here (off meter).

Totally agree with most of what you say and I have a meter. I’m also careful with what I use, mostly due to having a meter. However, I’ve lived in older properties without meters and have had my bills raised when I’ve used more so it’s not exactly fair to say people get charged the ‘same’ for using more water.

I am currently trying to get a water meter. The wait list appears to be almost 2 months, which is already offputting - I got an assessment pretty much straight away, but how many people can realistically plan that much in advance a) to be home and b) to potentially have their water supply switched off completely if there are any issues? I have been told there is a small chance that will happen (old house, terraced, potential issue with one of the pipes) and with children at home I'm worried now until the appointment is over.

I read that article and whilst I agree with your general sentiment it's actually that households with water meters use 33l less than the average of 141l - so the stat is 108l vs 141l.

having a meter had no effect on my water use. The non-metered rates for water are really high so it was cheaper regardless how much water I actually used.

i think the article actually says households with a meter use 33L less than the average of 141L, so 108L. A much smaller difference than you quote

That would make a difference!!

So yes - a much smaller difference. But a difference though

Anything that helps people to consider how much they are consuming is a good thing. We’ve had water meters for years. It does make you consider your usage and turn taps off, use less, reuse water. We fill up the washing up bowl with incidental water usage and it goes on the garden. Showers are brief and just as effective.

Like many things, you lose less, because you’re more conscious of it. It would be a good thing if it applied generally.

The average household with a meter uses 33 litres less (so 108 per day), not an average of 33 litres.
I can see your point though. Personally we moved into a new home (not new build, just new to us) 5 years ago and were never made to move over to a meter. It does irk me that water rates vary so much across the country as surely that plays a part too? When I lived in Surrey I paid £35 per month, in Leicestershire I pay double that! I would have offered to move to a meter but found we were likely to pay even more than what we already do, and I already find that to be extortionate.

Absolutely no chance would i have one of those fitted. When the water companies stop the thousands of litres lost each day to leaks I might consider it.

So for people who read it better than I did

“You have to pay for it, one way or another,” he said. “That could be investing in new reservoirs or moving water around the country, as well as stopping leaks.” Water metering is considered by the industry as the best tool for cutting water use – the UK has the highest usage in Europe. It is estimated that water meters have been installed in only about half of households in England and Wales, but these customers use 33 litres a day less than the national average, of 141 litres a day

So about 23% less

its pissing it down here.Always happens as soon as the word drought is mentioned

The average household with a water meter uses 33 litres a day. Those without use 141 litres a day (on average)

That's not true and isn't even what the article says.

It says: It is estimated that water meters have been installed in only about half of households in England and Wales, but these customers use 33 litres a day less than the national average, of 141 litres a day.

So, households without a meter use, on average, 108 litres a day, as opposed to 141 litres a day.

You've misread the usage - it says that metered households use 33L less a day on average than non metered houses.

That said, I agree with the other points, people are very wasteful of water. But that includes the water companies - there are enormous amount of water lost through leaks which aren't fixed properly. I do think people need to be more mindful of all usage - energy, gas, water - but there needs to be a levy on water companies to maintain their assets same as I think energy company profits should be cut in light of the lost of living crisis.

I don't think it's fair end users bear all the struggle when a large portion of the problems lies elsewhere!!

I'd rather water companies fixed their leaks. A water meter is like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic in the context of billions of gallons getting pished away via leaking pipes every day.

Kind of fed up with all of this environmental finger pointing that goes on at individual people in general tbh. Get on at the corporations that create the economic and practical context that people make decisions within.

You don’t have a choice if you live where I do -in the U.K. They are compulsory.

No, this will be the next thing they start putting the cost up on like the energy.

Where does it stop

We don't have a meter but you can still be careful with your usage and not wasteful

It says those on a water meter use 33l less, not 33l on average, in homes with an old toilet 33l is basically flushing the toilet twice (a dual flush is about 4-6l).

We’re on a water meter, only certain flats are due to the water supply to the building. It doesn’t make any difference to our usage, our clothes and bedding still needs washing, our pots need cleaning, we need washing and the toilet needs flushing.

We had a leak not long after I moved in, the leak was after the water meter but outside of the property so the leaking pipe did not belong to me, so the waterboard had to fix it. As the leak was beyond the water meter they attempted to charge me almost £500 in water as they waited 9 months to fix the leak. You can’t really restrict water to homes when waterboards happily waste water for months on end.

Article in The Times today says OFWAT think some water companies are in so much debt they risk going bust when interest rates rise, yet they’re paying dividends to shareholders, can’t get my head around how privatisation has benefited anyone except shareholders.

We have a meter, in a new build, we couldn’t get one in our last house, too difficult to install. We’re paying much less, apparently our usage is well below average. I don’t think we’ve changed our use at all since having a meter.

its inevitable that they will.

Water should never have been privatised and certainly no in the utterly stupid way it has been. There’s no customer choice. Just a set of local monopolies where the companies have been allowed to get away with murder for decades now.

It suits the government and the companies to have us all focusing on household consumption and water meters (while conveniently ignoring the role both government and the companies have played in relation to water meters). But it’s an absolute scandal that the infrastructure is so poor. The water companies have not maintained it sufficiently. And the government have not made them do so.

But what would be the cost per person per household?

Those with more people or over crowding wouldn’t benefit verses a single person in a one bed flat - verses a big family in a large house.