Off Topic Water Meters

[CheeseRolls]

Quick couple of questions for the mine of all local knowledge.

I have just moved house an have been told I have a water meter. Strangely I have yet to find out where it is. Has anyone changed over to metering and actually saved any money ? and any suggestions as to where I might find this thing. Just for information I have a household of 4 with no soap dodgers, so useage could be on the heavy side.

 

[Colossal Squid]

I live by myself and since having a meter installed my bills have gone down significantly. In a family home however you're less likely to save money I'm afraid. I doubt it would be much more than their estimates however, they're hardly going to estimate your usage conservatively

 

[Cantona's Flying Dropkick]

I live by myself and since having a meter installed my bills have gone down significantly. In a family home however you're less likely to save money I'm afraid. I doubt it would be much more than their estimates however, they're hardly going to estimate your usage conservatively

Same with me. Bill direct debits went down from £55 to £25 a month.

 

[Badger]

I switched to a water meter at my last (2 bed) flat, our bills went from £40 a month to about £100 every 6 months so we saved a fortune. Having said that it might not save you a lot if you're in a house with 4 people and have a garden.

Have you tried looking outside? Quite often they are under a manhole cover

 

[Notters]

Strangely, that's the opposite situation to me. I moved into a new flat a month ago an almost immediately spotted the meter under the sink. I called Southern Water when they sent us an unmetered bill and they said they had no record of it. They then sent someone round to have a look at it!

I calculated how much our water would be with or without a meter and they came out pretty similar:


Southern water price per litre: 0.104p

Daily usage (approximately, with me and my girlfriend):

1 x bath - 70L - 7.28p
1 x shower - 20K - 2.08p
Washing machine (1 cycle) - 46L - 4.784p
Washing up (2 bowls) - 8L - 1.664p
Toilet flushing (5 times) - 30L - 3.12p
Washing hands, drinking & cooking - 10L - 1.04p

Plus standing charges:

supply - 26.37p
sewerage - 28.82p
Sewerage charge - 154.8p

Total - £292.87

The yearly cost on the unmetered bill they sent me was £300, so pretty similar really.

http://www.southernwater.co.uk/DomesticCustomers/aboutYourBill/

My meter is under the kitchen sink btw.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Same with me. Bill direct debits went down from £55 to £25 a month.

Is that just supply or does it include drainage/sewage too? We're on rateble value tariff still and get water from Thames and drainage from Southern Water. Costs around £1000pa overall currently but we're band G council tax and I think the drainage cost is linked to your drinking water consumption/bill.

 

[VAL1850]

I live by myself and since having a meter installed my bills have gone down significantly. In a family home however you're less likely to save money I'm afraid. I doubt it would be much more than their estimates however, they're hardly going to estimate your usage conservatively

This - plus sewerage bills are pro rata of the water bill

 

[Cantona's Flying Dropkick]

Is that just supply or does it include drainage/sewage too? We're on rateble value tariff still and get water from Thames and drainage from Southern Water. Costs around £1000pa overall currently but we're band G council tax and I think the drainage cost is linked to your drinking water consumption/bill.

That's combined. Mid Sussex for supply and Southern for Drainage.

Was a band C with total water rateable value of approx £530.

Contact your supplier who will fit 25mm meter for free, who will let the drainage company know that one has been fitted. Probably your bills will reduce, but this depends on amount of people living at property.

HTH

 

[Cantona's Flying Dropkick]

This - plus sewerage bills are pro rata of the water bill

Southern's drainage is 97.5% of Mid Sussex's supply.

 

[Lush]

Quick couple of questions for the mine of all local knowledge.

I have just moved house an have been told I have a water meter. Strangely I have yet to find out where it is. Has anyone changed over to metering and actually saved any money ? and any suggestions as to where I might find this thing. Just for information I have a household of 4 with no soap dodgers, so useage could be on the heavy side.

It's probably under a circular cover outside your front door/on the pavement. Although mine is set in the pavement on the street behind the house. Use a knife/screwdriver to lever it up. You can see the digits (may need a torch).

I'm about to move to a house with no meter - The guy at the helpdesk at Southern Water was quite helpful in estimating whether or not it was worth changing, based on current bills.

 

[Nottseagull]

You've put this thread on TBB. How is that 'off topic'?

1 x shower - 20K - 2.08p

What's that 20,000 litres? That's some shower!

 

[CheeseRolls]

You've put this thread on TBB. How is that 'off topic'?

Have you not heard the rumour about the Dutch midfielder we are tracking ? Waater Metre currently at Feynoord. I didn't anyone to start pushing me to reveal my sources right now, as they are either under the kitchen sink or out in the road.

Thanks everyone for all the good feedback !

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Have you not heard the rumour about the Dutch midfielder we are tracking ? Waater Metre currently at Feynoord.

I hope we're not tapping him up.

 

[eastlondonseagull]

Our payments have more than DOUBLED on a meter, really pissed off that our landlord decided to have one fitted.

Oh, and our meter is in the street outside the front of our house.

 

[Bones]

Think the general rule is if you have less people in the house than bedrooms you're better off on a meter.

Once you have a meter installed it can't be removed.

 

[ROSM]

Our water meter is in the garage (just by the internal stop cock) rather than in the street after the external stop cock.

Having one has meant seeing the value from more efficient washing machines/dishwasher etc and hopefully we'll see the same from the new cistern we'll get with the new bathroom.



Sent from my Lenovo Think Pad via the goodness of my employers

 

[smiler]

That's combined. Mid Sussex for supply and Southern for Drainage.

Was a band C with total water rateable value of approx £530.

Contact your supplier who will fit 25mm meter for free, who will let the drainage company know that one has been fitted. Probably your bills will reduce, but this depends on amount of people living at property.

HTH

It depends on how much water they use!

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Quick couple of questions for the mine of all local knowledge.

I have just moved house an have been told I have a water meter. Strangely I have yet to find out where it is. Has anyone changed over to metering and actually saved any money ? and any suggestions as to where I might find this thing. Just for information I have a household of 4 with no soap dodgers, so useage could be on the heavy side.

Depends on your usage, really. I am not metered, but "they" (i.e. the Southern Water Website) reckon I could save £60 a month, as a single peson living in a 4 bed-detached, if I was. I intend to do it when I can arrange to be at home for the change-over. I guess, if your usage is above the average, then a meter may not do you any favours.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

On a meter , Anglia Water charge 90% of water consumption as a sewerage charge. Was paying £55 pm on dd which has now gone up to £61 pm mainly due to tariff increases and Russ's g/f staying on an occassional basis.

 

[blackprince]

If your tap water is supplied by Southern Water, they have already embarked on a programme of installing compulsary meters which is due to be completed in 4 years time.

Your Water Meter Installation map

I live in one of the areas earmarked for compulsory metering starting next year, but we voluntarily had one fitted about 5 years ago. The kids had flown the nest quite a few years before that so its been just me and the wife. On average, we save about 60% compared to when the charges were based on the rateable value of the house. We are not exceptional in the amount saved, but a saving will most definately not be made by every household. In fact there will be a significant proportion of households that will see a rise in their water bills once meters are installed in their properties.