Obviously water bills are going up.
Severn Trent claim average increase of 21% this year, local rags say 46%
over the next six years. My last few bills have been £438, £484, £556 and now £703, so 60% over four years and 45% this year alone!
OFWAT don't seem to publish much about agreed increases on their
website, and suggest visiting
<https://www.discoverwater.co.uk/annual-bill>
Last week (unprompted) they fitted smartmeters down our road, we're
still left on unmetered bills, the readings don't show on my online
account yet, anyone know how frequently they get read?
Obviously water bills are going up.
Severn Trent claim average increase of 21% this year, local rags say
46% over the next six years. My last few bills have been £438, £484,
£556 and now £703, so 60% over four years and 45% this year alone!
OFWAT don't seem to publish much about agreed increases on their
website, and suggest visiting
<https://www.discoverwater.co.uk/annual-bill>
Last week (unprompted) they fitted smartmeters down our road, we're
still left on unmetered bills, the readings don't show on my online
account yet, anyone know how frequently they get read?
In article <m9o5ahFlpr5U1@mid.individual.net>,
nib <news@ingram-bromley.co.uk> wrote:
On 2025-05-28 10:54, Andy Burns wrote:
Obviously water bills are going up.
Severn Trent claim average increase of 21% this year, local rags say 46% >>> over the next six years. My last few bills have been £438, £484, £556 >>> and now £703, so 60% over four years and 45% this year alone!
OFWAT don't seem to publish much about agreed increases on their
website, and suggest visiting
<https://www.discoverwater.co.uk/annual-bill>
Last week (unprompted) they fitted smartmeters down our road, we're
still left on unmetered bills, the readings don't show on my online
account yet, anyone know how frequently they get read?
Unfortunately not me! I've had one installed for well over a year and it
still has not transmitted a reading. Neither has any other in the road.
They've been round twice with their diagnostic tablets to no avail. They
manually read the meter via the LCD display twice a year.
nib
I wouldn't have thought that a water meter about 2' below ground was in a good position to transmit any data
On 2025-05-28 10:54, Andy Burns wrote:
Obviously water bills are going up.
Severn Trent claim average increase of 21% this year, local rags say 46% over the next six years. My last few bills have been £438, £484, £556
and now £703, so 60% over four years and 45% this year alone!
OFWAT don't seem to publish much about agreed increases on their
website, and suggest visiting
<https://www.discoverwater.co.uk/annual-bill>
Last week (unprompted) they fitted smartmeters down our road, we're
still left on unmetered bills, the readings don't show on my online
account yet, anyone know how frequently they get read?
Unfortunately not me! I've had one installed for well over a year and it still has not transmitted a reading. Neither has any other in the road. They've been round twice with their diagnostic tablets to no avail. They manually read the meter via the LCD display twice a year.
nib
Obviously water bills are going up.
Severn Trent claim average increase of 21% this year, local rags say 46%
over the next six years. My last few bills have been £438, £484, £556
and now £703, so 60% over four years and 45% this year alone!
OFWAT don't seem to publish much about agreed increases on their website,
and suggest visiting
<https://www.discoverwater.co.uk/annual-bill>
Last week (unprompted) they fitted smartmeters down our road, we're still >left on unmetered bills, the readings don't show on my online account yet, >anyone know how frequently they get read?
On 2025-05-28 10:54, Andy Burns wrote:
Obviously water bills are going up.
Severn Trent claim average increase of 21% this year, local rags say
46% over the next six years. My last few bills have been £438, £484,
£556 and now £703, so 60% over four years and 45% this year alone!
OFWAT don't seem to publish much about agreed increases on their
website, and suggest visiting
<https://www.discoverwater.co.uk/annual-bill>
Last week (unprompted) they fitted smartmeters down our road, we're
still left on unmetered bills, the readings don't show on my online
account yet, anyone know how frequently they get read?
Unfortunately not me! I've had one installed for well over a year and it still has not transmitted a reading. Neither has any other in the road. They've been round twice with their diagnostic tablets to no avail. They manually read the meter via the LCD display twice a year.
nib
Government needs to legislate so that instead of a fine water companiesSuch a good plan it will never catch on...
can be ordered to hold back dividends/bonuses and use them for maintenance/upgrades.
On 28/05/2025 11:02, nib wrote:
On 2025-05-28 10:54, Andy Burns wrote:
Obviously water bills are going up.
Severn Trent claim average increase of 21% this year, local rags say
46% over the next six years. My last few bills have been £438, £484, >>> £556 and now £703, so 60% over four years and 45% this year alone!
OFWAT don't seem to publish much about agreed increases on their
website, and suggest visiting
<https://www.discoverwater.co.uk/annual-bill>
Last week (unprompted) they fitted smartmeters down our road, we're
still left on unmetered bills, the readings don't show on my online
account yet, anyone know how frequently they get read?
Unfortunately not me! I've had one installed for well over a year and
it still has not transmitted a reading. Neither has any other in the
road. They've been round twice with their diagnostic tablets to no
avail. They manually read the meter via the LCD display twice a year.
nib
My non-smart water meter is read at least twice a year.
On 28/05/2025 12:24, Jeff Gaines wrote:
Government needs to legislate so that instead of a fine water companiesSuch a good plan it will never catch on...
can be ordered to hold back dividends/bonuses and use them for
maintenance/upgrades.
On 2025-05-28 10:54, Andy Burns wrote:
Obviously water bills are going up.
Severn Trent claim average increase of 21% this year, local rags say 46%
over the next six years. My last few bills have been £438, £484, £556
and now £703, so 60% over four years and 45% this year alone!
OFWAT don't seem to publish much about agreed increases on their
website, and suggest visiting
<https://www.discoverwater.co.uk/annual-bill>
Last week (unprompted) they fitted smartmeters down our road, we're
still left on unmetered bills, the readings don't show on my online
account yet, anyone know how frequently they get read?
Unfortunately not me! I've had one installed for well over a year and it >still has not transmitted a reading. Neither has any other in the road. >They've been round twice with their diagnostic tablets to no avail. They >manually read the meter via the LCD display twice a year.
On Wed, 28 May 2025 13:35:02 -0000 (UTC), Jethro_uk <jethro_uk@hotmailbin.com> wrote:
They should privatise them so we can choose our supplier.
The water industry was supposed to be opened to competition but it never happened.
They should privatise them so we can choose our supplier.
They should privatise them so we can choose our supplier.
The water industry was supposed to be opened to competition but it
never happened.
I wouldn't have thought that a water meter about 2' below ground was in a good position to transmit any data
My smart water meter (Severn Trent) is read at least once per hour -
probably more frequently
Obviously, the ratio will be different for different people depending on
the number of people in the house and the rateable value. There are only
2 of us, and our RV is relatively high (4-bedroom detached house).
If you water the garden a lot, it's worth having a separate meter
installed for the garden tap. I had one connected up a few years ago,
and when I get the 6-monthly bill for the whole premises from Southern
Water I ring them up and tell them the garden meter reading. They then subtract that from the sewerage charge and send me a new bill. The
garden meter more than paid for itself in three years.
Severn Trent claim average increase of 21% this year, local rags say 46%
over the next six years. My last few bills have been £438, £484, £556 and now £703, so 60% over four years and 45% this year alone!
Andy Burns wrote:
Severn Trent claim average increase of 21% this year, local rags say
46% over the next six years. My last few bills have been £438, £484,
£556 and now £703, so 60% over four years and 45% this year alone!
Water bills have always flown under the radar to me, worth not switching
to a meter in order to have freedom to use water without worrying about
it, has everyone else's risen as much (on the old RV scheme)?
Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> wrote:
Useful to know.
If you water the garden a lot, it's worth having a separate meter
installed for the garden tap. I had one connected up a few years ago,
and when I get the 6-monthly bill for the whole premises from Southern
Water I ring them up and tell them the garden meter reading. They then
subtract that from the sewerage charge and send me a new bill. The
garden meter more than paid for itself in three years.
I wonder if that would be as easy to achieve where supplied water is from
one company but sewage is the responsibility of another? We are on a
septic tank but where the sewage system starts a couple of miles away
Wessex water handle that but Bournemouth Water now a subsidiary of
SouthWest are the suppliers.
Wessex do offer a £27 per annum discount they call a rainwater allowance if you can satisfy them that a quantity does not reach their system but is
used on the ground.
On 29/05/2025 09:00, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 28/05/2025 22:50, Roger Mills wrote:
Obviously, the ratio will be different for different people depending on >>> the number of people in the house and the rateable value. There are only >>> 2 of us, and our RV is relatively high (4-bedroom detached house).
If you water the garden a lot, it's worth having a separate meter
installed for the garden tap. I had one connected up a few years ago,
and when I get the 6-monthly bill for the whole premises from Southern
Water I ring them up and tell them the garden meter reading. They then
subtract that from the sewerage charge and send me a new bill. The
garden meter more than paid for itself in three years.
I didn't know that you could that. I must check whether STW does the
same. As it happens, I *have* got a neter on my garden tap. I bought it originally to meter the whole house to see whether it was worth having
an official fitted - which it was. When my meter became redundant for
its original purpose, I moved it to the garden tap to keep an eye on how
much I was using for watering.
On 28/05/2025 22:50, Roger Mills wrote:
Obviously, the ratio will be different for different people depending on the number of people in the house and the rateable value. There are only
2 of us, and our RV is relatively high (4-bedroom detached house).
If you water the garden a lot, it's worth having a separate meter
installed for the garden tap. I had one connected up a few years ago,
and when I get the 6-monthly bill for the whole premises from Southern
Water I ring them up and tell them the garden meter reading. They then subtract that from the sewerage charge and send me a new bill. The
garden meter more than paid for itself in three years.
Andy Burns wrote:
Severn Trent claim average increase of 21% this year, local rags say 46% over the next six years. My last few bills have been £438, £484, £556 and now £703, so 60% over four years and 45% this year alone!
Water bills have always flown under the radar to me, worth not switching
to a meter in order to have freedom to use water without worrying about
it, has everyone else's risen as much (on the old RV scheme)?
My smart water meter (Severn Trent) is read at least once per hour -
probably more frequently - because when I log on to my account I can
display hour by hour usage over a 24 hour period.
Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 28/05/2025 22:50, Roger Mills wrote:
Obviously, the ratio will be different for different people depending on >>> the number of people in the house and the rateable value. There are only >>> 2 of us, and our RV is relatively high (4-bedroom detached house).
If you water the garden a lot, it's worth having a separate meter
installed for the garden tap. I had one connected up a few years ago,
and when I get the 6-monthly bill for the whole premises from Southern
Water I ring them up and tell them the garden meter reading. They then
subtract that from the sewerage charge and send me a new bill. The
garden meter more than paid for itself in three years.
Do you need an 'official' meter (from the supplier, calibrated etc) or will they accept the reading from a third party meter?
On 29/05/2025 12:41, Roger Mills wrote:
On 29/05/2025 09:00, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 28/05/2025 22:50, Roger Mills wrote:
Obviously, the ratio will be different for different people
depending on
the number of people in the house and the rateable value. There are
only
2 of us, and our RV is relatively high (4-bedroom detached house).
If you water the garden a lot, it's worth having a separate meter
installed for the garden tap. I had one connected up a few years ago,
and when I get the 6-monthly bill for the whole premises from Southern
Water I ring them up and tell them the garden meter reading. They then
subtract that from the sewerage charge and send me a new bill. The
garden meter more than paid for itself in three years.
I didn't know that you could that. I must check whether STW does the
same. As it happens, I *have* got a neter on my garden tap. I bought it
originally to meter the whole house to see whether it was worth having
an official fitted - which it was. When my meter became redundant for
its original purpose, I moved it to the garden tap to keep an eye on how
much I was using for watering.
It's best to check by phoning STW. I can't remember how I discovered the sewerage allowance. I just searched the SW website and couldn't find it!
Same with the STW website...
It's not surprising they "hide" these things, as a lot of customers are paying well over the odds for something they're not using. :-(
On 29/05/2025 15:40, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 29/05/2025 12:41, Roger Mills wrote:
On 29/05/2025 09:00, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 28/05/2025 22:50, Roger Mills wrote:
Obviously, the ratio will be different for different people
depending on
the number of people in the house and the rateable value. There are
only
2 of us, and our RV is relatively high (4-bedroom detached house).
If you water the garden a lot, it's worth having a separate meter
installed for the garden tap. I had one connected up a few years ago,
and when I get the 6-monthly bill for the whole premises from Southern >>>> Water I ring them up and tell them the garden meter reading. They then >>>> subtract that from the sewerage charge and send me a new bill. The
garden meter more than paid for itself in three years.
I didn't know that you could that. I must check whether STW does the
same. As it happens, I *have* got a neter on my garden tap. I bought it
originally to meter the whole house to see whether it was worth having
an official fitted - which it was. When my meter became redundant for
its original purpose, I moved it to the garden tap to keep an eye on how >>> much I was using for watering.
It's best to check by phoning STW. I can't remember how I discovered the
sewerage allowance. I just searched the SW website and couldn't find it!
Same with the STW website...
It's not surprising they "hide" these things, as a lot of customers are
paying well over the odds for something they're not using. :-(
Do water companies assume that all you drink is pissed or shitted away?
An unwarranted assumption on a number of grounds, apart from watering
the garden.
On 28 May 2025 at 12:46:44 BST, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 28/05/2025 12:24, Jeff Gaines wrote:
Government needs to legislate so that instead of a fine water companiesSuch a good plan it will never catch on...
can be ordered to hold back dividends/bonuses and use them for
maintenance/upgrades.
or nationalise. Just sent one of the perpetrators a letter:
On 29/05/2025 18:16, Max Demian wrote:
On 29/05/2025 15:40, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 29/05/2025 12:41, Roger Mills wrote:
On 29/05/2025 09:00, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 28/05/2025 22:50, Roger Mills wrote:
Obviously, the ratio will be different for different people
depending on
the number of people in the house and the rateable value. There are >>>>>> only
2 of us, and our RV is relatively high (4-bedroom detached house).
If you water the garden a lot, it's worth having a separate meter
installed for the garden tap. I had one connected up a few years ago, >>>>> and when I get the 6-monthly bill for the whole premises from Southern >>>>> Water I ring them up and tell them the garden meter reading. They then >>>>> subtract that from the sewerage charge and send me a new bill. The
garden meter more than paid for itself in three years.
I didn't know that you could that. I must check whether STW does the
same. As it happens, I *have* got a neter on my garden tap. I bought it >>>> originally to meter the whole house to see whether it was worth having >>>> an official fitted - which it was. When my meter became redundant for
its original purpose, I moved it to the garden tap to keep an eye on
how
much I was using for watering.
It's best to check by phoning STW. I can't remember how I discovered the >>> sewerage allowance. I just searched the SW website and couldn't find it! >>> Same with the STW website...
It's not surprising they "hide" these things, as a lot of customers are
paying well over the odds for something they're not using. :-(
Do water companies assume that all you drink is pissed or shitted away?
An unwarranted assumption on a number of grounds, apart from watering
the garden.
No.
Southern Water applies a 92.5% supply-to-waste calculation (I've no idea
how they settled on this amount). So if your supply meter shows 100m^3
was used, they assume that 92.5m^3 was treated as wastewater, and will
charge for that amount.
On 29/05/2025 18:43, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 29/05/2025 18:16, Max Demian wrote:
On 29/05/2025 15:40, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 29/05/2025 12:41, Roger Mills wrote:
On 29/05/2025 09:00, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 28/05/2025 22:50, Roger Mills wrote:
Obviously, the ratio will be different for different peopleIf you water the garden a lot, it's worth having a separate meter
depending on
the number of people in the house and the rateable value. There are >>>>>>> only
2 of us, and our RV is relatively high (4-bedroom detached house). >>>>>>
installed for the garden tap. I had one connected up a few years ago, >>>>>> and when I get the 6-monthly bill for the whole premises from Southern >>>>>> Water I ring them up and tell them the garden meter reading. They then >>>>>> subtract that from the sewerage charge and send me a new bill. The >>>>>> garden meter more than paid for itself in three years.
I didn't know that you could that. I must check whether STW does the >>>>> same. As it happens, I *have* got a neter on my garden tap. I bought it >>>>> originally to meter the whole house to see whether it was worth having >>>>> an official fitted - which it was. When my meter became redundant for >>>>> its original purpose, I moved it to the garden tap to keep an eye on >>>>> how
much I was using for watering.
It's best to check by phoning STW. I can't remember how I discovered the >>>> sewerage allowance. I just searched the SW website and couldn't find it! >>>> Same with the STW website...
It's not surprising they "hide" these things, as a lot of customers are >>>> paying well over the odds for something they're not using. :-(
Do water companies assume that all you drink is pissed or shitted away?
An unwarranted assumption on a number of grounds, apart from watering
the garden.
No.
Southern Water applies a 92.5% supply-to-waste calculation (I've no idea
how they settled on this amount). So if your supply meter shows 100m^3
was used, they assume that 92.5m^3 was treated as wastewater, and will
charge for that amount.
I thought you could have that 92.5% figure reduced if you could prove
that you used more than the expected amount to water the garden.
On 28/05/2025 14:09, RJH wrote:
On 28 May 2025 at 12:46:44 BST, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 28/05/2025 12:24, Jeff Gaines wrote:
Government needs to legislate so that instead of a fine water companies >>>> can be ordered to hold back dividends/bonuses and use them forSuch a good plan it will never catch on...
maintenance/upgrades.
or nationalise. Just sent one of the perpetrators a letter:
They were nationalised for centuries and after a big investment
by the Victorians,
subsequently little or nothing was spent and
water bills were peanuts for far too long which didn't even
cover running repairs, never mind improvements.
All around the South coast, raw sewage was just dumped into the
sea, and not even piped far enough out to prevent contamination
of that bit of the sea just offshore. At least now some
treatment is done and apart from after spells of heavy rain
there seems to be less contamination of bathing water.
On 28/05/2025 14:09, RJH wrote:
On 28 May 2025 at 12:46:44 BST, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 28/05/2025 12:24, Jeff Gaines wrote:
Government needs to legislate so that instead of a fine water companies >>>> can be ordered to hold back dividends/bonuses and use them forSuch a good plan it will never catch on...
maintenance/upgrades.
or nationalise. Just sent one of the perpetrators a letter:
They were nationalised for centuries and after a big investment
by the Victorians, subsequently little or nothing was spent and
water bills were peanuts for far too long which didn't even
cover running repairs, never mind improvements.
All around the South coast, raw sewage was just dumped into the
sea, and not even piped far enough out to prevent contamination
of that bit of the sea just offshore. At least now some
treatment is done and apart from after spells of heavy rain
there seems to be less contamination of bathing water.
On 29 May 2025 at 20:13:29 BST, Andrew wrote:
On 28/05/2025 14:09, RJH wrote:
On 28 May 2025 at 12:46:44 BST, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 28/05/2025 12:24, Jeff Gaines wrote:
Government needs to legislate so that instead of a fine water companies >>>>> can be ordered to hold back dividends/bonuses and use them forSuch a good plan it will never catch on...
maintenance/upgrades.
or nationalise. Just sent one of the perpetrators a letter:
They were nationalised for centuries and after a big investment
by the Victorians,
Well, mid-late 19C once the relationship between poor sanitation and disease had been established.
subsequently little or nothing was spent and
water bills were peanuts for far too long which didn't even
cover running repairs, never mind improvements.
Which makes mid-80s privatisation all the more daft.
You're saying the water infrastructure in England/Wales received effectively no maintenance or improvement since say 1900? Interesting, did not know that. The same in Scotland - which is of course nationalised (and significantly less
expensive than England)?
Do you have a source of that info? I know a fair bit about 19C/early 20C and post privatisation, but very little about the bit in between.
All around the South coast, raw sewage was just dumped into the
sea, and not even piped far enough out to prevent contamination
of that bit of the sea just offshore. At least now some
treatment is done and apart from after spells of heavy rain
there seems to be less contamination of bathing water.
All of that still happens. Anyway, nationalisation and 'decent services' are not mutually exclusive. And I think privatisation has been given a decent run,
and shown not to work.
On 29/05/2025 17:46, Peter Johnson wrote:
On Wed, 28 May 2025 22:50:43 +0100, Roger Mills
<mills37.fslife@gmail.com> wrote:
My smart water meter (Severn Trent) is read at least once per hour
- probably more frequently - because when I log on to my account I
can display hour by hour usage over a 24 hour period.
I've had a Severn Trent water meter since November 2023 and only
recently learned of the existance of the usage tracker but am unable
to access it. I've messaged ST to try and find out why. (They've
just issued my first bill using a reading taken from the meter, 12
months since the last bill.)
Is it a *smart* meter? If not, they won't be able to read it remotely.
On 29/05/2025 20:13, Andrew wrote:
On 28/05/2025 14:09, RJH wrote:
On 28 May 2025 at 12:46:44 BST, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 28/05/2025 12:24, Jeff Gaines wrote:
Government needs to legislate so that instead of a fine waterSuch a good plan it will never catch on...
companies
can be ordered to hold back dividends/bonuses and use them for
maintenance/upgrades.
or nationalise. Just sent one of the perpetrators a letter:
They were nationalised for centuries and after a big investment
by the Victorians, subsequently little or nothing was spent and
water bills were peanuts for far too long which didn't even
cover running repairs, never mind improvements.
All around the South coast, raw sewage was just dumped into the
sea, and not even piped far enough out to prevent contamination
of that bit of the sea just offshore. At least now some
treatment is done and apart from after spells of heavy rain
there seems to be less contamination of bathing water.
That was the problem with a lot of Nationalised utilities. When things
get politically tough it was too easy to "save money" by not investing
in the infrastructure. By the time the shit hits the fan the likelihood
was that the politician will have moved on and it was someone else's
problem. When water was privatised there was a large amount of money
required to repair a very leaky infrastructure in a very ageing system
and the Government didn't have enough taxpayers money to do so. The
solution was to privatise the system to use someone else's money.
Royal Mail reluctance to modernise 20/30 years ago helped with the
luddite attitude by the unions has resulted in the mess it's in now and struggling to catch up with other players in the marketplace.
On 30/05/2025 09:10, alan_m wrote:
Royal Mail reluctance to modernise 20/30 years ago helped with the
luddite attitude by the unions has resulted in the mess it's in now
and struggling to catch up with other players in the marketplace.
To be fair, RM have created a commendable process of automated letter
sorting and distribution, but sadly it has coincided with a massive
collapse in domestic letter usage as email and electronic communication
has taken over. Now add on a massive unionised work force who
unsurprisingly are unwilling to change.
To be fair, RM have created a commendable process of automated letter
sorting and distribution, but sadly it has coincided with a massive
collapse in domestic letter usage as email and electronic communication
has taken over. Now add on a massive unionised work force who
unsurprisingly are unwilling to change.
I've got an acre and a half and a pond that needs topping up. And a
private sewage treatment plant.
I dont have a water meter 🙂
On 28/05/2025 12:48, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
I've got an acre and a half and a pond that needs topping up. And a
private sewage treatment plant.
I dont have a water meter 🙂
My pond is fed with the water that lands on the garage roof. It's down
quite a bit at the moment, but it's deep enough that that doesn't kill anything.
(I can't feed it the water from the house - it's thatched)
Andy
On 04/06/2025 14:02, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 28/05/2025 12:48, The Natural Philosopher wrote:My pond gets all the water from my thatched house.
I've got an acre and a half and a pond that needs topping up. And a
private sewage treatment plant.
I dont have a water meter 🙂
My pond is fed with the water that lands on the garage roof. It's down
quite a bit at the moment, but it's deep enough that that doesn't kill
anything.
(I can't feed it the water from the house - it's thatched)
There's a French drain all around the house that feeds it
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