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.

Do you think that people would reduce their use of water / any resource if they were paying for the amount they used instead of just paying a charge regardless of the volume? I have! I look at water and think “I’m paying for that!” Even though the £80+ I was paying as “water rates” has dropped to £20.

Rule of thumb is - if you have fewer people than bedrooms, you’re likely to save on a meter.

If they can’t fit a meter, they’ll put you on a fixed rate based on the number of people in the household, which if your rateable value is highish, and number of people low, will still mean you pay less than in water rates, and it wont vary depending on consumption.

A member of the Great reset is here. Klaus is that you? Total control. Its hardly a real drought. Try living in a country that really has them.

I didn't think we’d get a meter since the supply for our neighbours comes through our cellar, but they were able to fix a meter on the pipe where our supply diverged from theirs.

The difference in water meter usage may be to do with the fact that people who use less water are more likely to have had a water meter installed rather than the water meter causing less usage.

I have a water meter (already installed when I bought my house) and don't think twice about how much water I use.

I’d prefer money was spent fixing leaks

Billions of litres still wasted

You only have to have a water meter fitted if you live in a water stressed area. Thames water is one of those areas, however the area we live isn't. The battle my dh had with our water company about not having a meter fitted was quite long running and only ended when he found a letter from an MP pointing out where the law applies.
We are careful with our water. We have water butts for watering the plants in pots, we don't wash the car more than twice a year and that's with a bucket of water, we mainly have showers though our yd has the occasional bath due to her condition.
We will not be having a meter fitted here or any future property until the companies fix all their leaks and the owners of the companies stop evading/avoiding paying tax as they live in the Cayman Islands.

I told Severn Trent that they could fit one in my house the day after the 5 water leaks I can see from my front door were fixed. I wouldn't wait for them to fix the one that causes car crashes in winter as I believe they are being taken to court for their 6 year failure to fix that one.

That was 4 years ago. 3 leaks are still visible and the road leak is still there.

Given the figures on water lost to leakage; the fact that it would 'only' cost 2 years worth of shareholder dividends to pay to fix all leaks; their persistent lack of care and expansion of the infrastructure why the hell would I volunteer to do anything for their tickboxes?

I rent from a HA. I waited literally months for them to fix my loo, where the cistern kept filling and emptying down the pan. If I was on a meter it would have cost me an absolute fortune, for water down the loo! If the HA would give me better plumbing then yes I’d sign up but there’s been more than one leak over the years that is always a several months long battle to get fixed. I’m not paying for their incompetence.

Nah I live in Scotland we have tons of water.

I'd never get one. We have a water mains just outside our garden so not on our land so to speak but less than a metre from our fence. It is constantly leaking. We have to phone the water company roughly 8 times a year and they come out and have a look and then say it's sorted until the next time it happens

Every single time they come out they ask us if we're on a meter because they'd have to make a note on the system to say there was a leak as otherwise it would seem as though we were using that water. So there's no way I'd get a meter until the problem is resolved permanently otherwise I can only imagine the price of the bill and the constant trying to prove it's not us using it. Nightmare.

It is a problem. No easy solution.

The London water system was built many years ago for a population of 6 million. It can't cope. Less rain now, global warming. Many of the repairs needed would mean closing parts of London. That can't happen. I know not what the solution is. If it was that easy I'm sure it would've been addressed already.

Our water is included in our council tax so no option of a meter but how much does it cost on average?

How is it included in council tax?

I’m pretty scared of getting one. 7 of us in a 3 bed house. We are certainly not crazy water users and I don’t think we could cut further, but our bills would sky rocket.

I’m in the same position as many less affluent families, many people for the house size,m. For more affluent families or empty nesters it’s a huge saving over the rateable values though.

We wouldn’t use less, we can’t, but we’d pay more. There’s a fantastic leak over the road that’s been going a week that probably is equivalent to many decades of our water consumption though. Our useage in the scheme of things will make little difference.

Water meters are good for the middle class mainly.

In Scotland water is nationalised and is invoiced
alongside council tax.

We asked for a meter but water co can't fit it due to the way our houses are built......we'd like one but can't have it

i dont want a meter. Then again my rate is £151 pa and im mains water supply only. I have livestock to water.

@HairyKitty in Scotland water and sewage are added to our council tax bill.

My water meter went in this morning.

I don't agree with installing meters. I would rather they fix leaks first. As an adult I can comprehend a draught and I already hate waste. A meter would not change our behaviour, unless it becomes unaffordable.

We can't have a metre because we're on shared support with our neighbours. Water company came out to check this and after half hour of searching, admitted that they couldn't find the stopcock anyway and put us down as unmeterable.

Just for interest, I did some data scrounging. So there is reportedly 3B litres lost per day through leaks (England and Wales - source BBC article). The 2021 census indicates there are 24,782,800 household in England and Wales (source gov.uk). So that equates to 121L per household lost through leaks. Average household use is 141L per person per day (source Guardian article). So basically you'd have to have every household reduce their usage by almost as much as the average person uses per day just to balance the amount lost through shoddy infrastructure!!

A good idea would be to charge a higher rate for water the higher the council tax band is. People in the most expensive properties should pay more per litre of mains water than a high end mineral water would be. This would decrease usage for unnecessary things like swimming pools, fountains, hot tubs and steam rooms.

Alternatively we could ramp the rate up the more water gets consumed. Eg the current rate per person for 130ltr per day, with a 20% uplift for every litre used above that limit. This would be a good idea for gas and electricity too, it would really punish those who use more than their fair share.

But still, let’s all concentrate on how people need to take individual responsibility and strip wash instead of showering. 🙄

I'd happily have one (it saved me a fortune compared to standard charges when I lived down south) but up here it's not currently a priority and you have to pay to have them installed. You can moan about leakage but people also moan if their bills go up too much to invest in solving the leaks so you can't really have it both ways, and yes I know the water companies make outrageous profits but it's a private business and that's how businesses work!