Huge first bill after switching to water meter!?

Question

I've just changed to using a water meter after being billed for many years. I live alone, take showers, and only wash clothes once a week. No dishwasher, garden hose pipe usage, swimming pool or anything unusual.

I've just received a bill for the last 3 months of £220 - using 80 cubic metres of water.

This doesn't sound reasonable ... any thoughts?

Answer 1

something wrong , unless 100 quid is for installation of the meter and a percentage to pay in advance , check it .

Answer 2

80 cubic metres.  I converted 80 cubic yards to US gallons, and it was a little over 16,000.  So, cubic meters might be 17,000 gallons or so.  That, divided by 90 days, is 188 gallons per day.  These are rough estimates, of course.  If you take a normal shower, do dishes in the sink, and flush the toilet three times per day, I'd guess you use no more than 30-40 gallons per day.  So, yup, something's amiss.

Answer 3

As an example Anglian Water charge 120.83p/ m3

so

80m3  x 120.83p = £ 96.66p

The standing charge is 7.12p/day (£26 / year)

so

3 months = 90 days x 7.12p = £64.08p

Therefore total is  ÃƒÂ‚£160.74p

Check bill fto see if your provider has charged for install cost of meter.

Answer 4

http://www.onlineconversion.com/volume.h...

That converts as 17,597.54 UK gallons - how often do you flush the bog?  :0)

209.49 UK gallons per day?

I think you should question that unless you have gills mate!

Answer 5

Have you considered you might have a leak between the meter and the house? If you haven't, then the meter is faulty - either way, you need to get them back to sort it.

Answer 6

Check that they have read the correct meter. There is a meter number on the bill and see if it corresponds with your meter. I only paid £86 for six months with my meter. I live on my own but am not mean with the water. Mind you, I live in Wales where utilities seem to be better priced. I have also had A discount on my electric bills.

Answer 7

It does sound excessive, amounting to 890l per day, or around 195 gal. Awful lot of showering , toilet flushing, dishwashing etc.! So,

1. Check the meter reading, just to make sure the meter readed got it right, especially the initial reading, unless it was zero.

2. Turn off every tap in the house and leave for as long as possible, eg going away for a weekend. Then read the meter again. There should be no difference in the two readings. If there is, then you have a leak on your side of the supply and need to find and stop it asap.You may need to call in a plumber, but these days fixing pipe leaks is not too difficult- if you can find them in the first place.

3. Check the bill very carefully. It will include both water supply and disposal, perhaps by different companies. The sewage charges will be based on your meter reading for water supply -  on the basis that if you use it you must have to dispose of it. This also includes an element for disposal of surface drainage - rainwater to you and me. If you have a soakaway or similar arrangement to dispose of rainwater, then you can get a reduction in you sewerage charges if you apply to the company with evidence.

Finally, it was my understanding that water meter installation was now free of charge, to encourage users to switch.

Thursday, 3rdJuly,2008 - Michael, reading your additional comments, I have had another thought to add to the discussion. If you live in an old semi-detached house as I do, then its possible that you share a common cold water supply with you neighbour, and you're paying for two dwellings  ! My water supply from the Company stoptap splits in my property to supply both my house and my neighbours. You will need to turn off all your water using sources, preferably by turning off your stopcock, and seeing if this makes a difference. ( OK you've already done that, so get your neighbour to do the same.)

If the meter shows no reading, then get your neighbour to  run a bath, flush the toilet and run the taps downstairs, water the lawn etc.

Does this make your meter spin ?  If yes, then you are connected to the same supply, and will have to get the Water Company to separately supply your neighbour, and get a refund !

If it does not make your meter spin, then each time you use water, you will have to record the volume used,only for a day or so, and see what results you get. For toilet flushing, should be only 10 -15 litres max. No idea what the shower usage should be, guess at 6 litres per minute for 5 mins. say 30 litres ?  When you have some reliable figures, ask for an Inspector to visit and discuss the matter with him/her.  Generally, these people are quite helpful and will be able to advise you on the next stage. Let us know how you get on, a  curious problem. Best of luck with it.