Hello,

Would anyone know about water meters?

We're a bit grumpy because we've found out that not only are we
charged per litre on drinking water (which is fair enough, that's what
the meter is for after all); we are charged for sewerage on the same
amount. That seems wrong because not all the water from the taps goes
to the drains. I'm thinking of steam from cooking, the dishwasher, the
shower, etc.

My main concern is that we are keen gardeners and a lot of water goes
onto the garden. Whilst the other examples might be small, the amount
we use on the garden is not.

The down pipes on our gutters do not make it easy for us to connect
butts, but I am thinking about getting some new down pipes installed
to help us with that.

In the meantime, the water co. have said if we fit a meter on the
garden tap we will not have to pay sewerage on the water used on the
garden. The problem is that I see there are different classes of
meter; does anyone know which class I would need for a garden tap?

TIA
Stephen.

Stephen wrote:
Hello,

Would anyone know about water meters?

We're a bit grumpy because we've found out that not only are we
charged per litre on drinking water (which is fair enough, that's what
the meter is for after all); we are charged for sewerage on the same
amount. That seems wrong because not all the water from the taps goes
to the drains. I'm thinking of steam from cooking, the dishwasher, the
shower, etc.

My main concern is that we are keen gardeners and a lot of water goes
onto the garden. Whilst the other examples might be small, the amount
we use on the garden is not.

The down pipes on our gutters do not make it easy for us to connect
butts, but I am thinking about getting some new down pipes installed
to help us with that.

In the meantime, the water co. have said if we fit a meter on the
garden tap we will not have to pay sewerage on the water used on the
garden. The problem is that I see there are different classes of
meter; does anyone know which class I would need for a garden tap?

TIA
Stephen.
Welcome to the real world Stephen. Waste water costs money to process.
However, if you look at your bill, I think you will find you are charged
for sewage at the rate of 92.5% of the clean water measured by your
supply meter.
Meters are normally supplied by the water board - mine certainly was
even though I fitted it myself. Secondary meters may well be different
but the water board should nevertheless be able to provide the
specification. Watch out for any charges they may impose to read the
second meter especially as the intention is to move towards roadside,
remote metering using readers in vans.

Bob

On Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:05:21 +0100, Bob Minchin
wrote:

I think you will find you are charged
for sewage at the rate of 92.5% of the clean water measured by your
supply meter.

You are correct, there is a tiny reduction. However the sewage charges
are still more than the fresh water charges. I appreciate it all costs
money, but I would have thought it would cost more to make water
potable than treat sewage?

Watch out for any charges they may impose to read the
second meter especially as the intention is to move towards roadside,
remote metering using readers in vans.

Yes, I have asked them about that too. The idea is to save more, not
get charged more.

Stephen wrote:
On Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:05:21 +0100, Bob Minchin
wrote:

I think you will find you are charged
for sewage at the rate of 92.5% of the clean water measured by your
supply meter.

You are correct, there is a tiny reduction. However the sewage charges
are still more than the fresh water charges. I appreciate it all costs
money, but I would have thought it would cost more to make water
potable than treat sewage?

Its the same thing surely? IYSWIM


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
The Medway Handyman wrote:

Stephen wrote:
On Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:05:21 +0100, Bob Minchin

You are correct, there is a tiny reduction. However the sewage
charges are still more than the fresh water charges. I appreciate it
all costs money, but I would have thought it would cost more to make
water potable than treat sewage?

Its the same thing surely? IYSWIM


Not exactly, I hope! Hopefully the treated sewage gets diluted somewhat
before re-entering the system to be made potable.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
The Medway Handyman wrote:

Stephen wrote:
On Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:05:21 +0100, Bob Minchin

You are correct, there is a tiny reduction. However the sewage
charges are still more than the fresh water charges. I appreciate it
all costs money, but I would have thought it would cost more to make
water potable than treat sewage?

Its the same thing surely? IYSWIM


Not exactly, I hope! Hopefully the treated sewage gets diluted
somewhat before re-entering the system to be made potable.

It does and to answer TMH's comment, the number of stages of treatment of
raw water and sewage are comparable. The energy involved in treating sewage
is often more than that for potable water. Also, the conveyance of sewage
and the costs of disposing of screenings can be much greater than that for
distributing water.

Stephen wibbled:

Hello,

Would anyone know about water meters?

We're a bit grumpy because we've found out that not only are we
charged per litre on drinking water (which is fair enough, that's what
the meter is for after all); we are charged for sewerage on the same
amount. That seems wrong because not all the water from the taps goes
to the drains. I'm thinking of steam from cooking, the dishwasher, the
shower, etc.

My main concern is that we are keen gardeners and a lot of water goes
onto the garden. Whilst the other examples might be small, the amount
we use on the garden is not.

The down pipes on our gutters do not make it easy for us to connect
butts, but I am thinking about getting some new down pipes installed
to help us with that.

In the meantime, the water co. have said if we fit a meter on the
garden tap we will not have to pay sewerage on the water used on the
garden. The problem is that I see there are different classes of
meter; does anyone know which class I would need for a garden tap?

TIA
Stephen.

I would ask the water company what they require.

Otherwise, here's a cheap one from a respectable supplier:

http://www.bes.co.uk/Water-Meters-_2...2009_7_30.html

HTH

Tim

On Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:13:37 +0100, Tim S wrote:

I would ask the water company what they require.


I was just told "any one that meets the cold water supply regulations"
and a link to the OPSI web site. Unfortunately that does not go into
detail about classes, so I am waiting for elaboration from the water
co.

Otherwise, here's a cheap one from a respectable supplier:

http://www.bes.co.uk/Water-Meters-_2...2009_7_30.html

That's the one I saw, which started this particular ball rolling.

Thanks.

Stephen wibbled:

On Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:13:37 +0100, Tim S wrote:

I would ask the water company what they require.


I was just told "any one that meets the cold water supply regulations"
and a link to the OPSI web site. Unfortunately that does not go into
detail about classes, so I am waiting for elaboration from the water
co.

Otherwise, here's a cheap one from a respectable supplier:

http://www.bes.co.uk/Water-Meters-_2...2009_7_30.html

That's the one I saw, which started this particular ball rolling.

Thanks.

I would ring BES. I would just confirm if they are WRAS approved, which
implies suitable for domestic potable water, though their description
suggests they are.

No idea what the Class designation is - possibly, at a wild guess, teh
accuracy as that's the only thing I can think that may be affected by
orientation of a jet based meter - as you say, if so, Water Co would
probably be the best bet as it's them who care.

Cheers

Tim

In message , Stephen
writes
Hello,

Would anyone know about water meters?

We're a bit grumpy because we've found out that not only are we
charged per litre on drinking water (which is fair enough, that's what
the meter is for after all); we are charged for sewerage on the same
amount.

Are you sure? I don't think you should be - IIRC we are charged at 95%
of the volume of the water used.


That seems wrong because not all the water from the taps goes
to the drains. I'm thinking of steam from cooking, the dishwasher, the
shower, etc.

I doubt that loses via steam amount to much really. i imagine it's
things like washing the car, watering the garden, washing windows etc.

My main concern is that we are keen gardeners and a lot of water goes
onto the garden. Whilst the other examples might be small, the amount
we use on the garden is not.

Hmm, you might be surprised, we have a pretty big garden, we use water
from the tap quite often for watering the veg , fruit and greenhouse,
though flowers beds and lawn mostly have to fend for themselves, but our
water consumption doesn't seem to differ much between summer and winter


In the meantime, the water co. have said if we fit a meter on the
garden tap we will not have to pay sewerage on the water used on the
garden. The problem is that I see there are different classes of
meter; does anyone know which class I would need for a garden tap?

I think you would need to ask them what they would accept really.
--
Chris French

On 30 July, 12:21, Stephen wrote:
Hello,

Would anyone know about water meters?


What I do know is that eventual compulsory fitment of domestic water
meters is a real con by politicians with vested interests. Virtually
similar to last weeks revelations about smart electricity meters
whereby a certain member of the House of Lords acting on behalf of
Landis+Gyr the Swiss manufacturer of smrt meters. See.................

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6727621.ece

£2000 per day consultancy ain't bad is it.

Water meters cost £200 each to install aand the cost of that gets put
on your water bill. Who benefits?

On Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:21:47 +0100, Stephen had
this to say:

Hello,

Would anyone know about water meters?

We're a bit grumpy because we've found out that not only are we
charged per litre on drinking water (which is fair enough, that's what
the meter is for after all); we are charged for sewerage on the same
amount. That seems wrong because not all the water from the taps goes
to the drains. I'm thinking of steam from cooking, the dishwasher, the
shower, etc.

On the other hand, you probably 'dispose' of water from elsewhere,
such as bottles of pop, tea, coffee etc from restaurants, pubs and so
on, so it's a case of swings and roundabouts.

My local water company (Northumbrian Water) charges on the basis of
equal quantities supplied and disposed of.

--
Frank Erskine

On Jul 30, 11:21 pm, Stephen wrote:

The down pipes on our gutters do not make it easy for us to connect
butts, but I am thinking about getting some new down pipes installed
to help us with that.

You'd be best to collect as much rainwater as you can. Have a very
obvious outdoor tap for watering your garden, plus a hidden pipe that
goes to your toilet cisterns and washing machine, and don't tell the
water company about it
So ideally your water butt needs to be higher than your toilet
cisterns and washing machine. You'll need a solid frame with diagonal
braces to support a ton of water.

"Matty F" wrote in message
...
On Jul 30, 11:21 pm, Stephen wrote:

The down pipes on our gutters do not make it easy for us to connect
butts, but I am thinking about getting some new down pipes installed
to help us with that.

You'd be best to collect as much rainwater as you can. Have a very
obvious outdoor tap for watering your garden, plus a hidden pipe that
goes to your toilet cisterns and washing machine, and don't tell the
water company about it
So ideally your water butt needs to be higher than your toilet
cisterns and washing machine. You'll need a solid frame with diagonal
braces to support a ton of water.

Or.

..
..
..
..
A pump!

On Jul 31, 5:37 pm, "R" wrote:
"Matty F" wrote in message

...

On Jul 30, 11:21 pm, Stephen wrote:

The down pipes on our gutters do not make it easy for us to connect
butts, but I am thinking about getting some new down pipes installed
to help us with that.

You'd be best to collect as much rainwater as you can. Have a very
obvious outdoor tap for watering your garden, plus a hidden pipe that
goes to your toilet cisterns and washing machine, and don't tell the
water company about it
So ideally your water butt needs to be higher than your toilet
cisterns and washing machine. You'll need a solid frame with diagonal
braces to support a ton of water.

Or.

.
.
.
.
A pump!

That's harder to hide from the Water Company Inspector

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Matty F wrote:

.
.
A pump!

That's harder to hide from the Water Company Inspector

What are you hiding - the fact that you're using rain water to flush your
toilets and wash your clothes? Is that illegal?
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

On Jul 31, 8:06 pm, "Roger Mills" wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Matty F wrote:

.
.
A pump!

That's harder to hide from the Water Company Inspector

What are you hiding - the fact that you're using rain water to flush your
toilets and wash your clothes? Is that illegal?

Yes, if you put that water down the sewer system without paying for
the sewage disposal.

On Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:21:47 +0100, Stephen
wrote:

Hello,

Would anyone know about water meters?

We're a bit grumpy because we've found out that not only are we
charged per litre on drinking water (which is fair enough, that's what
the meter is for after all); we are charged for sewerage on the same
amount. That seems wrong because not all the water from the taps goes
to the drains. I'm thinking of steam from cooking, the dishwasher, the
shower, etc.

My main concern is that we are keen gardeners and a lot of water goes
onto the garden. Whilst the other examples might be small, the amount
we use on the garden is not.

The down pipes on our gutters do not make it easy for us to connect
butts, but I am thinking about getting some new down pipes installed
to help us with that.

What size water tank can you fit?


In the meantime, the water co. have said if we fit a meter on the
garden tap we will not have to pay sewerage on the water used on the
garden. The problem is that I see there are different classes of
meter; does anyone know which class I would need for a garden tap?

Once you know how much water you use you'll see how big a container
you'd need to collect rainwater to do the same job.


TIA
Stephen.
--
http://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk
http://www.holidayunder100.co.uk