Can switching to a water meter really wipe £80 off bills? Yes... if you ditch soaks in the bath
WE ARE experiencing the driest summer on record, with hosepipe bans and other restrictions being rolled out by water providers – despite the stormy downpours and flooding of last week. The Mail on Sunday looks at steps you can take now to save money as well as water.
CONSIDER INSTALLING A WATER METER
WATER bills have doubled in the past 15 years and now stand at an average of £415 a year. About £200 of this is for the supply of fresh water while the rest goes on taking away so-called ‘grey water’ – including sewage – and treating it so that it can be used again.
The cost to water companies of providing 210 gallons of water – the amount the average person might get through in a week – works out at about £2. The cost of treating a similar amount of grey water works out closer to £3.
Just over half of all homes still pay a fixed water rate that is based on the size of their property, but a growing number are now on water meters. There is a far greater financial incentive to cut back on the amount of water you use if you are on a meter – though it might not make financial sense if you are a large family that enjoys baths.
As a rule of thumb, if there are more bedrooms than there are people in a home, then a water meter should work out cheaper. Those on a meter also have a financial reason – not just an environmental one – not to keep the taps on longer than necessary. Indeed, they can save £80 a year by adopting water-saving measures.
The Government-backed Consumer Council for Water has a ‘water calculator’ which gives an indication of potential savings – or the extra cost – of having a water meter (ccwater.org.uk).
Critics point out that because no one can choose who supplies their water, utility companies can ramp up their tariffs to increase their already high levels of profits.
INVEST IN A WATER BUTT FOR THE GARDEN
A HOSEPIPE ban is already in place for millions of homes – but if you invest in a water butt, you can use it to water fruit and vegetables and help them grow in your greenhouse and garden, as well as keeping flower beds and potted plants in bloom.
A water butt can initially be filled from the mains water supply – and you can then use it to fill watering cans to sprinkle the garden. A plastic 50-gallon water butt costs from about £40 from your local DIY store but will soon pay for itself when it ensures favourites, such as tomatoes and lettuce, do not shrivel and die due to lack of water. You are also investing for the future. More than 20,000 gallons of rainwater falls on the average house roof each year and that can be harvested using guttering and piping connected to a water butt – more than enough for all your garden needs.
Southern Water, South East Water. Manx Utilities and Welsh Water have all introduced hosepipe bans. Thames Water is applying one from Wednesday across London and parts of the Thames Valley, while Yorkshire Water’s ban starts on Friday. Other areas are sure to follow soon. The bans mean a hosepipe cannot be used to water the garden, clean the car, or fill swimming and paddling pools or ponds. The bans also include the use of sprinklers for lawns. The bans could last until at least October. Repeatedly breaking a hosepipe ban can mean a fine of up to £1,000.
CHANGE YOUR HABITS AROUND THE HOME
THE average person uses 30 gallons of water a day – while those who enjoy a bath might use as much as 22 gallons just filling it. But a shower with a £25 water-efficient shower head – one that aerates the water – can use just seven gallons of water in five minutes.
Another major source of water loss results from flushing the toilet. Putting a water-saving weight into a toilet cistern, such as a £2 Hippo Water Saver, can cut a two-gallon toilet flush almost in half. Another way to cut water waste is to install aerators on taps, which work the same way as water-efficient shower heads. They can cost less than £5 from a DIY store and simply screw on to the inner thread of many modern taps that serve both hot and cold water.
The aerated taps can halve the amount of water flow used when washing in a kitchen or bathroom, saving households as much as 16 gallons of water a day.
But it is not just fancy gadgets that save water consumption – changing habits can help too. For example, turn the tap off when brushing teeth and make sure the washing machine is full before using it. A washing machine can use 30 gallons of water per wash.
You might even consider ‘dry washing’ your hair rather than using traditional shampoo – where you spray your hair with ‘dry shampoo’ instead of using water.
Such measures might not sound like much, but when put together they can cut your water usage by up to a third, or ten gallons per person a day.
BEWARE OF UNNECESSARY LEAK INSURANCE POLICIES
A MAJOR reason we are facing a water crisis is not because we are wasteful with water as individuals but because utility companies seem to be more focused on maximising profits rather than plugging leaks.
The nine biggest water companies enjoyed combined operating profits of £2.8billion last year. But these same companies were also responsible for not fixing leaks that add up to more than 500million gallons of lost water a day in England and Wales – accounting for 20 per cent of all water used and enough to fill more than 1,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.
Incredibly, not only do these utility companies have the gall to tell us to stop wasting water, but often try to sell us insurance we do not need as well.
Water companies are responsible for sorting out leaks if they are beyond the boundary of your home, but not if they happen inside your home.
Fortunately, most household insurance policies offer cover for such problems, but this will not stop outfits such as Affinity Water promoting insurance from HomeServe, which can cost £100 or more a year – covering damage resulting from burst water pipes and blocked drains. This cover may bring peace of mind, but it is unnecessary if your existing home and contents insurance policy offers equivalent protection.