this is some advice if your thinking of switching to a water meter from ratable value or you are thinking of buying a new or older house.
we downsized from a 4 bed house to a bungalow, as we are retired now,never thought how much water we were using in the house as we were on ratable value.
our new bungalow was on a water meter,as we are retired and spend a lot of the time in the house, we use lots of water a day,water is supplied by wessex water , on a water meter you pay for water you are using pluss a standing charge ,to maintain the meter& cost of taking the readings.your also charged for sewage charge this is based against the amount of water you use so if you used say 10 cubic mts of water your charged with sewage charge of 10 c.mts
pluss another standing chargefor sewage.and a small discount if your water from the gutters is going to a soakaway.our billis working out about around £18 to £20.a week=£936 to £1000 a year. not good.we dont use water in the garden,and toilet levels have been lowered. checked system no leaks pipe work ok to.
If you are thinking of changing to a meter.or moving house were there is a meter installed
think twice. if its only me ok. if its two or three of us your going to see a big difference in your water bills, retired people like us moving house suggest go for a older house were the
water bill is linked to the ratable value,then you can use as much water as you like,
IS THE SYSTEM FARE NO ITS NOT.

WATER METER CHARGES
: Ofwat > Household consumers > Your water bill > Metered charges
Metered chargesIf you have a water meter, you are a metered customer. This means you pay according to how much water you use. Your bill is usually made up of a:

standing charge
volumetric charge, which is measured in cubic metres (m3), 1m3 is the same as 1000 litres
The standing charge is fixed. It covers the costs to the company of reading and maintaining your water meter. The volumetric charge varies depending on how much water you use.

If you have a water meter and are having problems paying your bill you can be protected from receiving large water bills under the WaterSure scheme.

If you have a cesspool or septic tank you will probably also pay charges for tankered household waste.

Water charges
Paying for what you use means you are more likely to use water wisely. This means each water company should set the metered volumetric charge to recover the costs that it will spend over the longer term to meet demand. This will help the companies meet the environmental challenges that the water and sewerage sectors face.

The metered standing charge, on the other hand, should be no more than the customer-related costs for the unmetered service, along with the fixed costs associated with providing a metered service (for example, meter reading).

Average metered and unmetered bills (XLS) sets out average bills for each of the water companies for 2013-14.

Sewerage charges
In your bill, your water company will include charges for three main sewerage services. These are for collecting and treating:

foul sewage
surface water drainage (for run-off from rainwater that falls onto your property)
highway drainage (for run-off from roads and pavements)
In principle, if you can demonstrate that you do not receive one of these services (apart from highway drainage,) you may be entitled to a reduction in your sewerage bill.

Foul sewage
Your bill will include a charge for collecting and treating foul sewage.

Your company will usually base its foul sewage service charges on the volume of water recorded on your water meter.

Your company will apply an assumption about the amount of water customers use that does not return to the sewer (the ‘non-return to sewer’ allowance). If you return significantly less than the assumed amount to the sewer, you may be able to claim a reduction in your sewerage bill. You will need to contact your sewerage company for further details.

Surface water drainage
Surface water is the rainwater that drains from your property into the sewer. Your company collects and treats this surface water. There is a charge for this service.

You will pay for surface water drainage in your bill either:

as part of the volumetric rate
as a fee in the standing charge
through a charge based on the rateable value of your property, or
through a charge related to the type of property you live in
If you can prove that the surface rainwater from your property does not drain into the public sewer, you may be entitled to a rebate on your bill from your sewerage company. Your company will not normally backdate rebates for periods before the current charging year.

If you qualify for a rebate you will receive it through a lower charge. The level of rebate can be found in your sewerage company’s charging scheme. Find out more about surface water drainage rebates.

Highways drainage
Companies treat water that falls onto the public roads and drains to the public sewers and collect a charge for this. The costs of this highway drainage service are not related to the amount of water that you use or to the value or size of your property, so there is no particular way of recovering these costs. Highway drainage benefits everyone who uses the road network either directly or indirectly. As a result, there is a case for recovering the costs of this service from highway authorities or from road users. At present, however, the law prevents this.

Your charges for highway drainage can be found in your company’s charges schedule.



REF. UNMETERED /RATEABLE VALUE CHARGE. OFWAT

You are here: Ofwat > Household consumers > Your water bill > Unmetered charges
Unmetered customerIf you do not have a water meter, you are an unmetered customer. Your bill is not based on how much water you use.

Your bill is usually made up of a:

fixed charge (or ‘standing charge’), which covers things like billing and customer service costs
charge based on the rateable value of your home.
As an unmetered customer, you may save money on your bill if you switch to a water meter.

Your water company can advise you if you may be able to save money by switching to a meter. Some companies’ websites have on-line calculators. The Consumer Council for Water have a spreadsheet calculator on their website.

Sewerage charges
Some people have the same company for both water and sewerage services, while others have a different companies for water services and for sewerage services. In your bill, your sewerage company will include charges for three main sewerage services. These are for collecting and treating:

foul sewage
surface water drainage (run-off from rainwater that falls on your property)
highway drainage (run-off from roads and pavements)
If you can demonstrate that you do not receive one of these services (apart from highway drainage), you may be entitled to a rebate on your bill.

Foul sewerage service
Your bill will include a charge for collecting and treating foul sewage. If you do not have a water meter, your company will usually use a fixed charge for sewerage based on the rateable value of your property. You can find further details on our unmetered foul sewerage service charges page.

If you have a cesspool or septic tank you may pay charges for tankered domestic waste instead of a foul sewerage charge.

Surface water drainage
Surface water drainage occurs when rainwater from your property drains into the sewer. Your company collects and treats this surface water. There is a charge for this service.

You will pay for surface water drainage in your bill in one of two ways, either through a:

fee in the standing charge, or
charge based on the rateable value of your property
If you can prove that the surface rainwater from your property does not drain into the public sewer, you may be entitled to a rebate on your bill from your sewerage company. Your company will not normally backdate rebates for periods before the current charging year.

If you qualify for a rebate you will receive it through a lower charge. The level of rebate can be found in your sewerage company’s charging scheme. Find out more about surface water drainage rebates.

Highway drainage
Companies also treat water that falls onto the public roads and drains to the public sewers and collect a charge for this. The costs of this highway drainage service are not related to the amount of water that you use or to the value or size of your property, so there is no correct way of recovering these costs.

I have to agree with jeffian.
Also retired I am saving a bucket by being metered since 3 years ago.
Wish I had changed earlier.
Currently pay about £24 per month for 2 persons usage in the house.

Agree with all the comments here. Severn Trent £29 per month 2 retired people large garden (with pond and greenhouses).

The only thing that Severn Trent didn't tell us when we transferred was that the payments were 12 months of the year not 8 as it was under the rateable value scheme.

I suggest you look for leaks.

Bob2,

As I said at the outset, it sounds as if something isn't right and subsequent posts seem to confirm that. I wondered if you were a particularly heavy user (garden watering?) but the last post seems to confirm that even this is unlikely to drive consumption up to the levels you appear to be being charged for.

Try turning off all taps and water-consuming devices in the house, lift the cover on the water meter (just requires a 't' bar or screwdriver) and see if it is going round. If it is, then you have a leak or other problem. Talk to your water supplier about it; they're usually quite helpful.

Thanks everybody for your answers,just for your ref.1 cubic mtr.of water =1000 lts or220 gallons
how i worked out the price cost per Ltr of water taken from bill
this was for 81 days used 37 c.mts price p.c.mtr=2.0539 total cost=£75.99
standing charge is £19 year divide by 365=.0520547p per dayx81= £4.22
sewage charge . 37 c mts.at £1.7766 pc mtr.total cost =£65.73
sewage standing charge=£46 year div.by 365=.1260273p dayx81=£10.21
less discount of 5% water not returned to drains =3.29cc
total cost for 81 days =£152.86
we used at that point 37,000 LTS in 81 days
£152.86 divide by 37,000= .0041313 of a p. per ltr
over the last 6 weeks i have been taking meter readings same day/same hour
worked out we used 23,670 lts divide by 6= average of 3945 lts per week
3945x .0041313p=£16.30 a week x 52=£847.49 year
yes we have cut down it was approx £19.00 a week at one time
we are classed as med. to heavy ushers.
with the price hike in april 2013 i reacon our bill will be around £900.00
sorry about the spelling ,improving even at 65
ps.we have had two leak tests done by w.water both ok, no leaks
i put it down to we are both there 7 days a week flushing,washing,laundry.
grand children, showers,water pressure is very high,
i suppose we will have to live with it,can't see us moving any more
thanks bob.