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.

A bath is 80l , a 5 minute shower is around 75. So basically the difference is a two minute shower.

There are huge parts of the country where this isn't an issue though.

there is plenty of water in the country. It's the people and infrastructure that aren't making the best use of it.

True - but then again, things like heating and electricity are not proportional for smaller households vs bigger households. But water probably is more proportional - baths, showers, toilet usage vs heating a room and cooking.

It will probably help at the margins but I am dubious that you can conclude a lot from those numbers.

In a lot of regions you can still opt I to having a meter. Households with fewer people have been incentivised to get a meter because they already use less water so it will be cheaper than a flat rate. Equally, larger households which use more water have been incentivised not to get a meter because it would be cheaper for them to stay with flat rate charging.

So lower consumption may mean you are more likely to have a meter rather than a meter meaning you are more likely to have lower consumption. I am skeptical that more meters would therefore meaningfully reduce consumption. Though there is probably a fairness argument for meters.

Sorting out the catastrophic state of the infrastructure would have a much better impact. Thames Water alone admits to losing almost a quarter of all the water in its system to leaks.

@CharlieAndTooManyCharacters exactly! How about putting responsibility on the people who are literally getting paid to be responsible?

People don't waste water anyway, it's not some frivolous consumer product - all this chat about meters, you'd think that those without one just walk around their houses turning taps on all day for a laugh. People use the water they need.

Domestic use only accounts for 10% of water used anyway, globally speaking. You could fit a meter to every dwelling in the world and the difference in water usage would be negligible. Yet that's what water companies are fucking around spending time and money doing.

They’d need more staff to come around and read metres I guess. We couldn’t get a smart one I’m sure as we’ve never been able to get a smart energy metre either.

We can’t get a water meter where we live apparently it’s uninstall able.

Id rather they fixed the leaks and stopped placing the blame on the consumers, they could also invest in other ways

Also don’t get me started on them trying to charge me for waste water when we have a sodding septic tank it’s taken months to get that changed 🤦‍♀️ And now they are being idiots about refunding me!

Or 23% less water used - which is a good thing when it comes to our water usage and droughts?

It would make me slightly better I guess though, thinking about it. For instance, our hose pipe is old and leaky. We’d probably buy a new one if we had a water metre rather than accept the water loss (we do actually try to catch some of it in buckets and use to water the garden but still…)

Sorting out the catastrophic state of the infrastructure would have a much better impact. Thames Water alone admits to losing almost a quarter of all the water in its system to leaks

That's appalling - and it's not a binary choice between water meters or fixing leaks.

Yes. Some of the water companies sell their water to other countries. Often while imposing restrictions on the people they serve.

It’s a bloody disgrace.

It’s a bit like glittering a turd. And then blaming someone else that it smells.

YABVVU as 1/3 of domestic water supply is lost through leaks. My water bill has quintupled thanks to a leak that was reported in 2020 and nothing was done about it. Now I am paying for other peoples lack if action.

Anyway, when you have a shower out the plug in and flush the toilet with the water. Also, have sink washes a couple of times a week. You can scrub and rinse every inch of your body using much less water.

We don't have a water meter and our bill is exactly the same as our old house where we had one.

I think it’s victim blaming as a distraction by the water companies. In my road there is a huge water leak every month or two, because the water company put in cheap plastic measurer things where the pipe meets each house, and they are breaking individually, which results in high pressure water spraying out of the manhole edges like a stream. The water company will come out to fix these leaks, but they can take several days to do so (in one case more than a week!) and in the meantime there is a fountain spraying away the water like a stream down the road. The water company does not proactively replace all of them because that would mean admitting their own error, instead they prefer to come out on individual occasions over six years with each leak wasting huge amounts.

(And yet DH doesn’t want me to water my vegetable patch because he’s worried neighbours will judge us.)

Sort out the mismanagement by water companies and then we can talk about water meters.

This. There is no water shortage in Britain if its averaged over 12 months, we get HUGE amounts of rain. What there is, is mismanagement and poor storage my water companies.

It should be up to the water companies to sort themselves out and stop wasting water completely before they start telling individuals who pay a fortune for their water that they can’t keep their plants alive or clean the shit off their cars.

When water companies stop making a profit, stop wasting water through leaks, stop contaminating our rivers because they can’t do their job properly and there’s still not enough water, then it would be reasonable to expect their customers to reduce the water they use at home.

I also wouldn’t assume that people who aren’t on a meter aren’t paying enough for their water. We don’t have a meter but the water company charges according to the size of the house despite it being massively under occupied for most of the year.

Agree with this

The water companies are failing to prevent 3 billion litres of water leaking per day. That's 45L for every person in the UK. Much more than the estimated 33L per day reduction in useage per household (so, like 6-8L per person?) for those on a meter. But they have the gall to be pushing responsibility onto consumers? Yes we need to be taking more responsibility for all of the resources we use - not just water - but why isn't the government doing something about private companies making huge profits from something we literally need to stay alive, whilst failing to spend the money we pay them on fixing faults and improving infrastructure?

I do think that water leaks should be addressed first. I’m sure I read that they lose enough water everyday to supply 20 million people. Like a pop said how will having a shorter shower fix that?

I have a private water supply so no real skin in the game. Privatisation was a mistake though better to have a cohesive approach to maintenance, repair and expansion.

Would you really trust the government to invest in water infrastructure properly? I wouldn't. If they can't fund the NHS properly there's no way they fund invisible underground pipes.

And to the person who said people don't waste water - of course they do. We all do. It's not an infinite resource. And we are responsible for doing our best regardless of what other people or companies do.

I’m in the Isle of Wight, where we have water meters and a hosepipe ban comes in on Friday. What we really need is rain - there hasn’t been any for weeks.

People don't waste water anyway, it's not some frivolous consumer product - all this chat about meters, you'd think that those without one just walk around their houses turning taps on all day for a laugh. People use the water they need.

Water is both a need and a want. Water is needed for both drinking and hygiene purposes (washing ourselves, clothes and dishes; cleaning the house; flushing toilets etc). Water is not needed for watering the garden or paddling pools. Water use can also be cut down e.g. by having a stand up wash rather than a shower, or by washing clothes less frequently.

An awful lot of people have found ways to save energy (without inconveniencing themselves; I know there are also plenty who had nothing to save without compromising things like heating) when the prices went up. I suspect there is a similar amount to be cut with the average person's water use.

Part of the problem with maintaining the pipes is it means closing roads. So quite a few companies will only fix pipes once a visible leak has appeared (and then not for weeks sometimes).

So people won't be able to afford heat their homes or bathe? What a world we live in!

This shunting of responsibility from corporations to individuals is a terrible attitude and will fox nothing, unless pushing people into poverty is the goal.