Water bills

Im with Anglian and IWNL one for water one for waste and already pay £684 so it will be well over £700 😭

I see your point, Molly, but am guessing you live in a house which is in one of the higher council tax bands so had a higher rateable value than many..

For people living in lower-banded homes, especially those where there are several people in the household, it wouldn’t necesarily be cheaper to be metered. People need to do their sums on this.

There are more homes in Band A than any other band.

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-tax-stock-of-properties-2024/council-tax-stock-of-properties-statistical-commentary

Moneysavingexpert “rule of thumb” is if a household has more bedrooms than people then it is usually advantageous to be metered. Use this calculator:

www.ccw.org.uk/save-money-and-water/water-meter-calculator/

If you decide to opt for a meter, check if this is a reversible decision. In most cases, you have a trial period (often up to two years) to switch back to unmetered billing if the meter proves more expensive.

My late DH and I opted for metering in the 1990s which saved us money as we were out in the daytime working and showered at the gym.

I am now widowed, retired and live alone. I currently pay just over £1 a day for metered water and sewage. I think that is very good value. I am careful about water use (just as I am with energy). My annual costs are around half the average shown for my supplier.

I received my water bill recently and the information it included made me realise it would make no sense whatever to have a water meter.

This was Yorkshire Water.

Im with northumbrian water paying £645 per year, so i dont understand how the new yearly payment quote says its rising to £535 per year ?!

That's the average bill just as the Energy Price Cap is an average.

Some households will use more water (or energy) and some will use less.

Yorkshire water is very expensive. The metor was already installed when we moved here and it’s now £73 per month for the two of us 🥴

I dont have a water meter so my usage isnt monitored.

Anglian Water covers the area around Bedford where they are building a massive Universal Studios. Apparently this will have millions of visitors and is equivalent to the size of a new town. Not only will this be using huge quantities of water but will be producing millions of gallons of sewage. They have to build a new sewage works or double the size of the current one, and very quickly.

'What happens when eight million visitors need the loo?'

It seems all our water treatment centres are at capacity which is why they are dumping raw sewage into the rivers. I can't see this situation improving with all the new houses being built. And Universal Studios as well. Water bills can only continue to rise.

Bridie22

I dont have a water meter so my usage isnt monitored.

That means they can charge what they like because there is no record of how much you use. They'll get you either way because the cost has to go up for everyone.

Oh my goodness, I hate to imagine what our bill will be. Our two teenager DGC live with us and have entered the stage where they shower at least daily for about twenty minutes. DGS has OCD and is continually washing his hands, DH and my frequent visits to the loo, two washing loads a day and two dishwasher loads.

I am with United Utilities and my yearly metered bill is over £1000 but we do use a lot of water.
5 person household in the week and 6 at the weekend.
Lots of showers and lots of laundry.
I still don’t look forward to even higher bills though.

The list, presumably, is the average price per household in the different utility areas.

I'm surprised at the difference between the lowest and highest but some bills are for water only, not waste.
Waste seems to be a higher cost than water which begs the question, what are they doing with all that money for waste? Certainly there is a lot of pollution.

As we can't have a meter fitted, we are apparently on the average for two people but it must be based on rateable value.

Don't forget the top bosses and shareholders need their share Mollygo! Although Dwr Cymru is not-for-profit but still one of the most expensive.

Graphite

I see your point, Molly, but am guessing you live in a house which is in one of the higher council tax bands so had a higher rateable value than many.

No. Not even near the higher council tax bands.
Graphite
If you decide to opt for a meter, check if this is a reversible decision. In most cases, you have a trial period (often up to two years) to switch back to unmetered billing if the meter proves more expensive.
That’s a good point and we were quite anxious about a meter being more expensive. Fortunately that turned out to be not necessary.

Allira
Don't forget the top bosses and shareholders need their share Mollygo!
Oops! You’re so right. I’d forgotten that.
Our next door neighbour was one of the few people who couldn’t have a meter fitted. They successfully argued their costs based on our metered cost.

A few years ago water meters were fitted in my road to ‘monitor usage’.
I used to pay unmetered for 8 months of the year. Just before Christmas I had a letter to say I didn’t use much water and could be due a refund. Early in the new year said refund dropped into my bank account and they have put me onto metered and given me a much lower monthly bill to pay.

If anyone is struggling with paying the bill and is on

Universal Credit
Pension Credit
Housing Benefit
Income Support / Jobseeker’s Allowance / Employment Support Allowance

then check with your water company as your bill could be capped at a lower amount. This applies in Wales and England and oth parts of the UK have voluntary systems.

Southern water sent me an information bill telling me that my bill was going up from £22 per month to £60+
I called and disputed it as according to them I’m using less this year than last?
Sent a meter reading
Had to balance my account with £21 immediate payment
Now back to the original amount!!
Don’t accept what the utility companies tell you to pay
Always negotiate
👍

There are three of us in our family, and we also use United Utilities for water and sewerage.
Last year's bill was for £942. Our home isn't a high band rating, but it seems unlikely that there would be much saving having a water meter installed. Although, when the bill hits that mat, I usually consider it.

Beechnut

A few years ago water meters were fitted in my road to ‘monitor usage’.
I used to pay unmetered for 8 months of the year. Just before Christmas I had a letter to say I didn’t use much water and could be due a refund. Early in the new year said refund dropped into my bank account and they have put me onto metered and given me a much lower monthly bill to pay.

This applied to me too Beechnut but I don't fully understand it.

Severn Trents email says I already have a water meter fitted to my home. There isn't and has never been one on my actual property.

I've been switched to a measured tarif which is mandatory.
They are obviously metering my water somewhere out there but I have no personal access to meter readings to keep an eye on things as with gas and electric.

I used to work for Scottish Water many years ago and the advice was always not to have a water meter unless there were fewer people in your home than there were bedrooms. I suspect that is where higher bandings come in eg if you're in a higher banded house you're likely to have more bedrooms and have more people using the water supply. Therefore, if your in the same family that has more bedrooms but just a retired couple, or the children have flown the nest, then you were likely to be overpaying. It has been 15 years since I've worked in the water industry so if someone with more up to date info could update this that may be helpful.

Wishes our water meters are in the pavement, outside the properties. I wonder if that’s the same for you.

We did initially try to read our meter, but it is down a narrow hole in the pavement.
To the amusement of passers-by, I lowered a feather duster to move the debris from the top of the meter. Then attached my phone to a selfie stick and lowered it down the hole to photograph the screen.
When I apologised to the water company, for the poor quality of the reading, they explained that the meter is read automatically. I evidently didn’t need to bother. I’m relieved about not having to read it, or provide entertainment.

I’m with Northumbrian Water too Bridie. I live alone, but do DD2’s laundry, often all 5 loads in one day. My payment has just risen to £32 per month. I don’t wash my car and use rainwater for the garden (when possible).

Just got my annual statement. Very happy I'm in a bit of credit and my monthly payment isn't changing.

Shame I can't say the same about my dental plan.

We changed to a meter earlier this year as it was going to be cheaper. We were paying £44 a month. Our first metered bill has been £1400 for 4 months! Thames water!

I'm not sure if you all know, but if your income is under £26,000 [I think that's the right amount] this includes those on a pension you can ask to be put on a 'Social Tariff'.

I only found this out when my DD almost doubled, even though I was using less water than the previous year. I phoned my water company and was told that I qualified to be on the Social Tariff.

It might be worth a phone call.