Water Meters ?
 

Another utility related thread from J4CKO !

Further to my Gas query in a fit of uncharacteristic abandon I just signed up with SWEB, apparently it will save me 500 quid a year, we shall see !

Now, just looked at the water bill, 654 quid for last year, there are 5 of us (3 kids) so we use a fair ammount of water but surely not what will be 700 quid this year when we get the bill, my wife is paranoid that if we get a meter we will pay even more than 654 quid and we will have to bathe in rainwater, I say f*ck it, get a meter then I can at least see how much we are using rather than just blindly paying 700 quid, thats a f*ck of a lot of water bought via a meter I would imagine.

Assuming £2.50 unit charge for water & sewerage and each person uses 150 litres per day, you're right on the borderline of saving money by switching to a meter.
The real winners are big houses with low occupancy- such as the over 50's, especially customers of Thames Water (high rateable value).
If you can say which water company area you are in then I can give you a better feel for any savings.

Nick

We've had a meter since 1993 and have never had a bill anywhere near the flat rate. We are reasonably careful about water usage, but not stupidly so. The main thing is to buy the most efficient dishwasher and washing machine you can, and fit efficient toilet cisterns (the modern ones flush better than the old ones using about half the water).

About time they made them compsulsory so we can stop the shortages every year.

Aren't meters capped at a certain level ?

Get a large water butt for the garden as well - get this plumbed into the run off from the roof and use it to water the plants... saves LOADS of water that way.
Showers are amazing for saving water - treat a bath as an indulgence (I do), there are lots of ways to save water and make the meter worth having