Just my experience, for my household having a water meter saw us make a significant saving. We installed one voluntarily as our water company estimated that we'd save money, and they were correct.

I think because we're two adults living in what would often be a family home, and a family of 4 or 5 is obviously going to use a lot more water than two adults who have a fairly low water usage - e.g. showers rather than baths, being careful about using appliances.

Personally I think that anything that rewards considerate water usage and using resources thoughtfully is to be encouraged! Although on the other hand I wouldn't want anyone going to the opposite extreme to save water! ;)

09/05/2014
REPORT FOUND OF INTEREST IN THE TIMES TODAY One in five households cannot afford to pay their water bill, a survey by the industry watchdog has revealed.
With Ofwat, the regulator, piling the pressure on the country’s 19 regional supply companies to cut their charges, the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) said an increasing number of people were complaining that they did not believe their bills were fair
The survey found that 20% of households said that their water bill was not affordable compared
with one in eight the previous year.
While about nine out of ten households were happy with their water and sewage services ,the research found that only seven out of ten thought they were getting value for money.
Barely half said the charges were fair ,down from 67% in 2011 .
The research has been released at a delicate time for the industry as 15 water companies struggle to come to a agreement with ofwat over the regulator's demands that charges in real terms over the next pricing period, from 2015 to 2020.
Water bills differ markedly around the nation . The highest are in the west country,where charges are inflated by the demand for environmental spending on the coastline ,£600 charges
a year for the west country are falling on average to below £500 after the additional intervention of the ministers, who have granted subsidies of £50 per household in the predominantly conservative and liberal Democrat region,Severn Trent has the lowest average charge in the country, though these have recently risen to £333 a year on average .

my comment the amounts quoted above are only average charges ,if you're, lucky you might be only paying around £200 in the Severn Trent area or if you're unlucky you could be paying £1000 plus and believe me a lot of people are .
The charges by water companies should be balanced out so you don't get big variations across the country otherwise we should be able to pick the water company with the best contracted price as electricity/gas supply companies ,

13/06/2014 UPDATE Thames Water sees tax credit increase from £5m to £87m despite 79% jump in profits

Thames Water was handed an £87.4million tax credit by HMRC, despite racking up earnings of £259million last year.
The utility company’s profits jumped 79 percent on the back of revenue up 8.5 per cent to £1.9billion, a rise chairman Sir Peter Mason said was ‘driven by increased prices’.
Despite the surge the tax credit, which will be deducted from future cheques to HMRC, soared from £5million last year to £87.4million. This was largely down to a £132million boost after Chancellor George Osborne reduced corporation tax from 23 per cent to 20 per cent
.......................................( Driven by increased prices ..................................................
thanks maggie

As Bob 2 knows I have similar usage to you with just 2 persons in the house and all of the facilities we all use, plus 1000 gallon fish pond, and pressure washer for 90 metres of sandstone- used about twice a year,and 2 cars to wash, and a large garden. I used a total of 47.5 cu metres over the last 6 months to February 2014 and my D/D's for my bill have gone up to £20 per month from £19. We do take showers rather than baths, but these are power showers. Despite endless research we have never managed to work out how Bob 2 has such high bills. I know that he has had his meters checked and/or changed.

water/sewage charges ref (wessex water) from 01/04/14

water services up from 217.24p to 224.46p per cubic metre

sewage services up from 180.36p to 185.74p per cubic metre/based on water used,

standing charge for water stays the same at £24.00 annually,
standing charge for sewage goes up to £54.00 annually from £53.00

notes 1000 Litres = 1 cubic metre of water

saving tips
1. plumb in ballofix valves to sink taps, and adjust to lower throughput at a cost of about £2 a valve.
2.lower water level in toilet system,by adjusting ball valve stop screw, or place a brick or half a brick in system ,
3.If your water pressure is excessively high, you can purchase a pressure reducer valve for around £25 and plumb it into the supply pipe after the stop cock ,then adjust to a more acceptable flow rate.
4.each house has its own water meter, find out where it is and take a reading once a week/7 days or month /30 days so you can see what you are using.
5. if you suspect a leak , turn off all the taps in the house ,wait at least 15 minutes to allow for water header tank to fill up ,go to water meter check dial and there should be no movement at
all, if there is recheck everything is turned off. check meter again if its still moving, turn off your stop cock tight. now check meter again if its still moving its indicating there is a leak in the supply pipe from meter to your stop cock, report to water supply company, if there is no movement in meter when you turn of your stop cock,but movement in the meter with it open and
you got all your taps,etc turned off, its indicating you have a internal pipe work leak. may be under floor or may be ball valve in loft not shutting off correctly, checks or get in a plumber.
good luck,

08/07/14 WESSEX WATER Business plan 2015-2020

We’ve submitted our final business plan to Ofwat for 2015-2020 that details investment plans for the future based on customer priorities.

It follows our biggest and most in-depth customer consultation exercise which involved getting the views of more than 24,000 customers and 90 organisations such as Citizens Advice. We have also responded to the views of Ofwat since our original publication in December 2013.

Our engagement with customers was overseen by an independent customer scrutiny group. They have submitted a report to Ofwat on this and a further report on the changes we have made since December.

Keeping your bill affordable

We are proposing to keep bill rises below inflation every year for the next five years.

This means the average household bill in 2019-20 will be £37 a month (before inflation) compared to the current average bill of £40 a month.

To improve water and sewerage infrastructure, provide higher levels of service and continue to make environmental improvements, we plan to invest £1.2 billion between 2015 and 2020.

Our business plan sets out how we will perform against nine promises that we developed in consultation with customers.


SOUTHERN WATER BUSINESS PLAN 2015-20
Southern Water customers are set to benefit from lower average bills after the company updated its Business Plan for 2015 to 2020.

It is now proposed that average bills will rise by 3.2 per cent less than the rate of inflation. This compares with an increase of 1.5 per cent below inflation in the plan put forward to the water industry regulator Ofwat in December last year.

Matthew Wright, Southern Water’s Chief Executive, said: “We have worked hard to respond to Ofwat’s feedback on our plan and this means we can now provide even better value for money for our customers. We believe our proposals strike the right balance between the need to deliver the improved services customers want, cater for a growing population in our region, safeguard the environment and make sure bills are affordable.

“Our plan is based on the views of more than 27,000 people from across our region and includes 26 promises which we are making to customers about the quality of service they receive. One of these key commitments is that we will make nearly £200 million in efficiency savings between 2015 and 2020 – that amounts to about £20 per year for every household we serve.”

The range of improvements Southern Water’s plan will deliver includes:
90 per cent of customers’ queries resolved the first time they contact Southern Water
A 25 per cent reduction in sewer flooding inside people’s homes and businesses
No ‘serious pollution incidents’ affecting local rivers and coastal waters caused by Southern Water’s operations
A 15 per cent increase in the number of beaches with the official ‘excellent’ rating for bathing water quality
A further reduction in leakage of two million litres a day
A reduction of 15 litres per person, per day in average water use.

Ofwat is due to publish a final determination on Southern Water’s plan in December 2014.

***********EXTRA NOTE OF INTEREST, taken from ofwat site********************
2002, the Government said that it would not introduce competition for household customers. It felt that the cost and complexity of the regulation that would be required would outweigh any benefits
my comment utter rubbish, that's what the industry want's a bit of competition to bring the
prices down, its now 2014 still no competition between water company's, why ,why,
otherwise we are stuck in some areas with higher than normal charges.

This may be the answer ,if we stick together
Zoe Sinclair has a government petition running until 3/3/2015 as below

HM Government

Accessibility Home
Search published e-petitions



e-petition number 61227



Stop the monopoly that water companies have - overhaul our water industry

Responsible department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs


Our water industry is outdated and out of touch. Water customers are being disadvantaged. We want the government to hold a thorough review of the water industry and to introduce radical change that will benefit every water customer and our environment.

Unlike other sectors, if a water customer is unhappy with their water company they don’t have the choice to take their custom elsewhere. Our water companies hold the monopoly, they have no competitor. Introducing competitors would positively influence standards and improve levels of service. Water companies would have to become concerned about potential loss of business and would need to proactively evaluate the services they offer.

This review should extend to the effectiveness of industry agencies (CC Water, Ofwat, PHSO) in place to ‘protect’ the water customer and should aim to standardise the compensation criteria and compensation levels within this sector.
Please sign this petition to bring positive change

I have signed it, for the opportunity to change water supply company's and create a fairer system , THIS IS YOUR OPPERTUNITY TO DO SOMTHING TO CHANGE THIS TOTALLY UNFAIR STSTEM, VOTE NOW PLEASE
at E-PETITION
http: epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions./61227

update on votes now 6 but we need a 1000

***************************** http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/61227 **********************
click above thanks bob