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Water meters

izzy eckerslike

izzy eckerslike

master brummie
Our Water bill has come in at £511 for the year, there are just us two pensioners living here & I reckon a meter will be a big saving for us.
Because the current bill is based on the now obsolete rateable value there is no way it can be reduced according to info on the net.

So basically I am asking if anyone in a house with just two people has had one fitted & did it make a big difference? I filled in a form which calculates the saving you might make but it involves how many times you flush the toilet in a week amongst other things etc. so we are now keeping track :D
The calculator showed I would pay around £350
 
Hello there, if you can get onto a water meter you save a lot of money without any doubt whatsoever, I live in
a bungalow which is highly rated, under the old way I paid over £500 per year now with a meter I am down
to £15 a month by direct debit, what a differance eh!! I now have all my neighbours on meters, STWB put
ours in free on charge, they even have a little box on the outside wall so they can read it without coming
indoors, best thing I ever did, Bernard
 
Hello izzy eckerslike. I have been on a water meter for about 2 years. The first year the bill was a saving - perhaps £3.50 the same as you. This year - I don't know yet. I am saving money on no flush toilet [unless one has too [polite ain't I] 1st time [we have two toilets by the way]. I have a dishwasher which I use once per day after our evening meal and we use showers and not bath's.
During the first year we had a leak under the front garden, so I am hoping it will be less when I receive the next bill. I also pay monthly. Miriam.
 
We had a water meter fitted about a year ago the first half year is roughly half of what we had been paying, waiting for the 2nd half year due next month to give the full picture. We have a bungalow - I am being more careful, just wash up once a day unless there is a large amount, turn tap off when cleaning teeth. A friend gave me a little rhyme re flushing the loo "if it is yellow let it mellow, if it is brown flush it down". Hope that isn't too rude.
 
Interesting stuff, how many toilets /showers etc. you have should make no difference at all, even if you have six :shocked: as if you only have one & it's occupied then you use it a few minutes later, if you have a second toilet & you use that then it's still the same amount of water used
 
We had a water meter put in just after we moved to this place i had a water meter fitted at the last house and the bill came down, we pay monthy £15 and they owe us money. i say get one fitted.

Water meters are tested will pure water, when fitted in the system there are fine particals in the water that make the meter under read so you are better off the ones that don't have a meter pay for the short fall.
 
We had a water meter fitted last year. Don't know just how it will work out once a full year has passed, but our monthly payment was £64 per month prior to the meter being installed, we have recently been paying £30 per month. We have a dishwasher, but I do wash up during the day as well, I wash about six washes a week, and we both bath, although during the summer I shower, husband still bathes. I would say that a water meter will be a saving, but it may not be as huge as other people's because obviously, some people use more water than others.
 
Since having a water meter fitted 3 ago its the best thing i have ever done we both shower every day some times twice

The washing machine and dishwasher are on the go every day i water my garden by hose in the summer with out any worry and the quarterly bill is about £25 the water being 90 pence a square meter which is a lot of water

So folks get your meters checked out you may be paying for leeks

Mossy
 
Hi Izzy.

I live in the South West in North Devon we have the most expensive water rates in the country due to all the coast line which has to be clean so we are on water meter.

My total units for a year about 80 the works out at at month payment of £480 a year if I was not on meter it would be £800/£850 year.

Another big advantage with a water meter is you can check it weekly/ month build a programme on your computer and insert to calculate cost, also if you keep I eye on your meter it will tell you if you have a leak, I've three and have just had the whole pipe from pavement to house.

I haven't meet anybody with 2 in the family who haven't saved a fair amount.

Did you know that if your rain water doesn't discharge into the sewers you can claim a reduction in your water rates. ( if you rain water goes to soakaways).

I don't have knowledge were you live, but when I was living Four Oaks sutton Coldfield i reduce my cost for water considerbly.

So go and do a bit of Detectice work it's worth it there is a good chance if you live in house built after the late 1950's this will possible be the case.

Good look Ray



izzy eckerslike said:
Our Water bill has come in at £511 for the year, there are just us two pensioners living here & I reckon a meter will be a big saving for us.
Because the current bill is based on the now obsolete rateable value there is no way it can be reduced according to info on the net.

So basically I am asking if anyone in a house with just two people has had one fitted & did it make a big difference? I filled in a form which calculates the saving you might make but it involves how many times you flush the toilet in a week amongst other things etc. so we are now keeping track :D
The calculator showed I would pay around £350
Click to expand...
 
Current regulations mean you can try it for a year then revert back if unhappy.

If you apply someone comes around and see's if it is possible to install one, if it is not you get a reduced rate.

Severn Trent came to dad's last year and said it was not possible to install one, they even sent around their 'top plumber' to confirm this.

As his neighbours were having much reduced bills, dad got a local plumber to come in and make the pipes more accessable then after the work was done he asked the water company to call again. This time it was possible to fit one, and so he had one and his bills have plummeted.....
So much for the water companie's 'top plumber'.....
 
We decided to apply for a water meter and a very nice young man came to inspect where it would go but we have been told that we can't have one due to the waterpipe structure but we can go on an assested account.......something we didn't know about.............so long as you have applied, going on the assessed account, will reduce your water bill alot!!

So go for it.

We too live in the highest water rate in the country.
 
We asked for a water meter but we have a shared main so cannot have one. However we were put on an assessed tariff which estimates how much two people would use and so our bill was reduced. Still reckon we would be better on meter but would probably have to have a new main run to either us or next door. This is only available to those who ask for a meter but are unable to have one fitted BTW

The person I spoke to was very pleasant and advised of the likely cost were we to change.


Oops just spotted that Rowan has said the same.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
'waterpipe structure'

This was the reason my father was turned down, but I have an idea the water companies don't want to replumb even though it comes under their remit, they even sent out their top plumber to say it could not be done. Strange one phone call to a local plumber sorted it.......half hours work and suddenly it was ok to install......
 
I have been looking at our water bill it came last week and from 1.3.10 our £15 a month is going upto £19 a month the new amount takes into account any increases in charges, Sewerage and surface water is the biggest part of the bill and that is based on the amount of water that goes through your meter. i have a water butt outside for watering the flower tubs and washing the car.
 
You say you use 80 units a year how much is a unit,as i said down here in Weston it is 90 pence a square meter wich is a lot of water,so if ii used 80 units over the year my bill would be less than £80 i also pay £200 a year sewage

Mossy:)

I live in the South West in North Devon we have the most expensive water rates in the country due to all the coast line which has to be clean so we are on water meter.

My total units for a year about 80 the works out at at month payment of £480 a year if I was not on meter it would be £800/£850 year.

Another big advantage with a water meter is you can check it weekly/ month build a programme on your computer and insert to calculate cost, also if you keep I eye on your meter it will tell you if you have a leak, I've three and have just had the whole pipe from pavement to house.

I haven't meet anybody with 2 in the family who haven't saved a fair amount.

Did you know that if your rain water doesn't discharge into the sewers you can claim a reduction in your water rates. ( if you rain water goes to soakaways).

I don't have knowledge were you live, but when I was living Four Oaks sutton Coldfield i reduce my cost for water considerbly.

So go and do a bit of Detectice work it's worth it there is a good chance if you live in house built after the late 1950's this will possible be the case.

Good look Ray[/QUOTE]
 
Thanks for all the replies, definitely going to apply for one, should be better than £63 per month X8 we are paying for this year.
Fitting should be easy as we have our own shut off valve up the top of the drive :biggrin:
 
izzy - when we go on Holiday we turn all water OFF. check the number on the meter [our' is at the top of drive] and then on return check number before 'even a cup of tea'. We can then see if number has moved - if it has inform water supplier and it may be you may have a leak. They will sort. Miriam.
 
We were unfortunate when we had the water meter fitted because it had to be put down a hole just off the drive so we can't check our usage, I said to the chaps who fitted it that I would need a periscope to read it. Another thing Ray fitted a device in the toilet cistern to reduce the amount of water used when we flush.
 
No body has said how much a unit that they are Paying...or dont you know?


Mossy:rolleyes:
 
Thanks Frederick it just goes to show you are paying 46 pence more than me our sewage is a one of payment of £200 a year

It would be interesting if other people on this thread would say how much they are paying

Mossy

 
Hello Mossy,
We have had a metre for 8 years, for 2 people in a 3 bedroom house,the washing machine is used 5 times a week,and shower once a day (sharing:)),and the usual washing up when I get around to it.:(

Anglian Water,on Solow rate...the last bill was:
6th.Oct.09 to 22nd.Dec 09.

Total water charge...£19.75
Total sewerage charge...£27.37.
 
Hi there, I have just had my half yearly bill from STWB £134.82 water price per metre 130.06 used water 84.39, I was already £71. 24 in credit so I rang them
now this years payments are D/D £15 per month, bit better than £500 eh!! Bernard, ( Ilive on my own, my dog has his own loo outside) Bernard
 
Not even if it saved you £30 per month? It took us a long time to decide, we are still not at the end of our first year and we are more than £30 a month better off. Our house is fairly highly rated, we have four bedrooms but there are only two of us living in it (I might be considered half a person, being so short!). We decided that as we were paying the same amount as people with 6 in the house, we should pay less and therefore the meter came along. Best bit of money saving we have done in a long time.
 
Strangely enough no, when I turn on the tap I don't want to start thinking about the meter turning.

Another thing, it's down to people like me that people with water meters can enjoy low costs, when it becomes compulsory it stands to reason that the water companies are going to suffer a massive loss of revenue.....I think not, prices will go up to compensate.
 
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