Is this water bill high

[Scared0112]

We’ve been here 12 months. Im only now taking notice of everything and I suspect we have a leak, now today our water bill arrived and I realise I do not know what is normal and chatgpt suggests not.

it’s a 4 bed, 70s house we are renovating. 2A and 2c.

we do run a dishwasher, perhaps a load of laundry a day and I would say perhaps 11 baths per 7 days.

any ideas?

We had someone round from our water company to look at water-saving tips. He said that if our shower is on the max setting, it uses enough water in 4 minutes to equal an average bath.
So the idea that showers are water-saving isn't always the case if they are powerful/you have decent pressure.
We had the pressure turned down on the bathroom and kitchen sinks to reduce flow. You could see if your water conpany provides visits with freebies to save water.

My Mother, born 1926, was a daily bather.

Part of it I suspect the result of having the luxury of a proper bath in a centrally heated bathroom after a childhood of tin baths in front of the fire.

Once we moved to a house with a shower, c1990, neither Mrs B or I use the bath other than very occasionally as a treat or to ease aching bones.

Kids were bathed until mid primary age.

It’s about the same as my bill (5 of us in the house). We don’t bath much (I have one maybe once a month) but DH and I have daily showers, 2 of the DC shower every other day and the youngest (ND) showers all the fucking time.
So it doesn’t sound massively off to me.

My mother’s bill came in very high and it turned out to be a slight, persistent drip from the loo cistern into the bowl. I was shocked just how much water it had added up to but it had been going all day, every day and she hadn’t noticed it. I got it fixed and did get an additional payment plan sorted with the otherwise very unhelpful water company.

It all happened just as I started to take over the running of her admin, under a LPA, - goodness only knows what would have happened if I hadn’t been looking through her bills and it had continued on. A small leak can be using much more water than seems likely .

average annual usage for person is around 50m3, so for 4 people that would be 200m3 so your usage of 136m2 in half a year is quite high.
I think daily baths for toddlers and small kids might be a thing still but they only have a shallow bath. Adults and teens wallowing up to their necks in a deep bath is a lot of water!

The UK actually has a dire water shortage problem with many parts of the country suffering from persistent drought. Given the amount of public information campaigns, I am shocked that anyone things 11 baths a week for a family of four is remotely normal, never mind acceptable. It might sound judgmental, but if you're using 759 litres a day as a family of four, you are using way more than your fair share in a country that is very close to not having enough to go around.

On baths specifically, a typical bath uses about 80 litres of water although if filled to the brim it can be close to 200 litres. Raising the temperature of 80 kilos of water from, say, 7 degrees to 40 will use just over 3kWh of energy, which is not great for the environment (or the wallet) either.

We have a 4 bed detached, 2 adults, 1 DC (and water averse dog). Also run dishwasher and washing machine quite a lot, and have baths and a garden that will get watered in the summer, as well as occasional car washes etc.

Our half year bill is about £280 (water, waste water and standing charges) based on actual meter readings.

The last few 6 monthly bills say we use about 50m3 per 6 months.

Have you checked there isn't an outside tap that is connected to a hose with a spray mechanic (I don't remember the actual word right now) or similar that has been left on in the winter? Or if a toilet cistern has a slow always on flow?

Must be missing all those campaigns amongst the endless onslaught of pedophiles and war crime occurring in the news daily.

With all do respect, I’ve explained the children are ND. I’m coming to terms with being recently disabled, I choose to bath over shower due to the physical limitations (I’m at risk of fainting in the shower alone, let alone the other stuff) and our current shower is unsafe and frankly disgusting. As I say, we’re living in a Reno that hasn’t been touched in 50 years. I’m going as fast as I can in terms of rectifying this given finances now I’m facing losing my career, due to health. Hence also only just realising the cost of our bills- we haven’t needed to keep a close eye before and it’s slipped under the radar, both in cost and useage.

Ah OP mine is higher than that and we use more than our fair share of water, but I am trying my best to reduce it so don't beat yourself up.

I'm obsessed with my water app, I check my usage everyday now!

No, my bill is higher. New build. No leak. Lots of small children and therefore lots of laundry. That's unfortunately just the cost of things now!

Ours is £46 a month to your £100 we have about 3 baths and 7 showers per week total. Run 1 dishwasher every other day and about 4 loads of laundry a week.

So it would make sense to me that yours is just over double ours.

@Scared0112just FYI it’s ‘all due respect’ not ‘do respect’. Sorry.

It’s January, no droughts are currently here. As of late January 2026, reservoir levels across England are generally high and recovering well, with total stocks reported at 87.8% for the period ending 20 January 2026.

OP is disabled. She cannot shower. Disabled people are allowed to use water to clean themselves.

If it makes you feel any better, we aren’t metered and ours is c£130 per month. I know I could get a meter put in but I don’t trust them to swap it back out if it isn’t cheaper!

Turn your water off. One of you watch the metre and see if it still moves. If it does, you may have a leak. Call out the water company.

Have you heard of the priority services register My DD is with Anglian water and on a small universal credit top up to her wages with a small dc. They went through all her circumstances and with a small child and her own health problems they offered her a social tariff and she now pays £9 per month regardless of usage. You may qualify with your own disabilities and with ND dcs.

I guess some people who are on rates can have as many baths as they want.

You need to shower. Dishwashers don’t use much water 7 wash loads is not excessive for a family.

Mine is 109 ao I think that looks fine (but extortionate as is mine)

I know you say you found a leak but it would need to be material ie. Pumping out serious amounts of water to meaningfully move tge bill.
A slow leak wont do that.

Water is becoming increasingly expensive and scarce. I prefer baths to showers, but I don’t fill the bathtub like I used to, I only add enough water to be able to wash, and I very rarely have a soak in a full bathtub. I got used to it so I don’t feel im missing out

I have 3 people at home and mine is £90 a month so it seems pretty accurate.

I'm in the process of changing to a meter and was told by South Staffs water that they no longer allow customers to swap back.
However, they also said meters will eventually become compulsory, so it only buys time until they get to the area.

@StrawberryJamAndRaspberryPie - you give me hope! Our estimate on the water meter calculator is £650pa for a similar set up to you, but everyone on here saying £100 a month is normal is freaking me out!

That bill is on top of your monthly direct debit, you've already paid £130 a month dd so what period is this bill for.

If you have a leak the water company might refund some of the bill even if it is an internal leak. I had a toilet continually flush and when I phoned the water company they halved my bill. They said they wouldn’t do it again.
this from the internet.

Yes, you can often get a refund or adjustment on your water bill for an internal leak, but it is not guaranteed and depends on your water provider's policy and specific conditions
Water companies usually offer a leakage allowance for metered customers, where they would adjust your water usage to what an estimate would be without a leak.

@Scared0112 We are on the WaterSure scheme due to my child's disability and medical needs, could be worth finding out if you qualify too?