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Original poster

Should I change to a water meter?

9 replies

VivaLeBeaver · 17/03/2011 11:51

We've had a water meter fitted at our stop tap. We have no choice in it being fitted but we get to choose whether to use it or not. We currently pay £44 a month for our 3 bed semi. There are 3 of us here, we have a big garden with a veg plot that takes quite a bit of watering. DD loves playing in the sprinkler in the summer. We have a dishwasher, use showers rather than the bath though.

The water board are keen for us to move onto metering and reckon we'll save money. Well if we're going to pay them less why are they so keen for us to swap?

Anyone on a meter in similar circumstances - did you save money?

OP posts:

haggis01 · 17/03/2011 14:15

When we bought our current house we asked on the solicitors forms if the house was metered or on a fixed rate and the sellers lied! its on a meter and it is much more expensive than the fixed yearly rate we paid when we rented a house further along the street . Once you have a meter you can't have it removed so we are stuck. Before for a 3bed/4th bed in loft house we paid £400 a year, we are now paying £55 a month on DD and had to pay £150 on top at the year end. We are also using less water due to the meter - eg more showers, water saving low flush toilets, water butt in garden etc, water saving washing machine, eco washing machine etc although we are a large family - 6 people. The sewage charges on the bill form the bulk - flushing the toilet and emptying the bath costs a lot!!

conculainey · 17/03/2011 14:20

Thats a lot of money to lay out for water, my total yearly rates(council tax) bill is 368 pounds which includes water and sewage.

moogalicious · 17/03/2011 14:30

We are on a meter and pay £40/month. We are a family of 5 and have a 3 bed house with a courtyard garden. We have to watch how much water we use eg don't flush loos after a wee, not too many baths, turning taps off while cleaning teeth. Certainly wouldn't let the dc's play under a sprinkler!

No choice where I live as they put in a meter when you move into a new place. Although I wouldn't have one if I had the choice I do think they are a good thing as they encourage less waste.

tyler80 · 17/03/2011 16:58

When we moved into our current rented property we got a meter fitted as soon as I saw the size of the bill for fixed rates. The last two properties had meters as they were new and I knew that are bills would be less on a meter.

We pay between 15 and 20 pounds a month, it would be about 400 a year with no meter (family of 4). We did have the option to revert back to fixed rates if we wanted to 6 months after the meter was installed.

GrendelsMum · 17/03/2011 18:30

There's somewher online where you can calculate whether you'll save money.

We save bucketloads of water / money in our new house, and I have regular baths for my bad back.

notcitrus · 17/03/2011 18:46

Some water companies offer you to try the meter for some months or a year and then you can switch back if you spend more. I'd read the small print though. I might do it when our bathroom is done - we moved in just before meters were compulsory and have had loads of leaks to deal with plus renovating heating systems and main bathroom, so had to have baths for months.

Currently paying £440/pa for house with 3 adults, 1/2 toddlers, dishwasher, washing nappies, lots of baths, etc.

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 17/03/2011 21:56

Will have to see if we can do it for a year and then swap back if we want. I've done the online calculator and it does say we'll save money but I don't trust it as its provided by the water company. Plus there was no option for frequent playing under the sprinkler use.

Conculainey - I wish I lived where you do. Our council tax is £130 a month, plus the water bill on top of that. We just live in a rural east midlands village - not Mayfair!

OP posts:

haggis01 · 18/03/2011 09:17

My dad lives in N Ireland and the water is included in your "rates" - basically council tax. If you are a student, unemployed etc it means your water is basically paid through your council tax (rates) benefit. He thinks its appalling that in mainland Uk we apy for water.

Generally there seems to be a huge disparity in water prices across the country - we are paying more now in Sussex than we used to pay in inner London!

My neighbour who is single saves a fortune by having the water metered but its difficult to save as a family.

Fizzylemonade · 18/03/2011 17:44

We have a water meter, I pay £25pm, that's 2 showers a day, plus a small bath for the children 3-4 times a week.

We have a dishwasher, washing machine is on every day. We are a family of 4. I am a sahm so am here in the day making cups of tea, weeing lots I live in a 4 bed house, 3 toilets.

We grew veg last year and didn't have a water butt so we used a hose pipe to water the veg pretty much daily. I try to be conscious of the amount of water we use, we don't run taps when brushing our teeth, our toilets have water saving devices in them until we can change them to a dual flush.

The way I see it, I pay for electricity, gas and petrol as I use them so I don't see why water should be any different.

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