Metered Water concerns

Hi,

Any advice please on metered water, I’m using loads now and fearing a huge bill, is it possible for the water board to meter the outside tap separately, anyone else in the same boat could advise please?

Ask your local water board? I guess rules change from place to place.

You can run water usage as an expense, so that would keep the cost down.

Nudel said:

Ask your local water board? I guess rules change from place to place.

You can run water usage as an expense, so that would keep the cost down.

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Yea fair point, cheers 

Yes you can have a sub meter fitted for water used outside you then only for the water not the sewerage charge as well , makes a big difference to your bill 

If I have a sub meter do I pay an extra standing charge and is it expensive having a sub meter fitted .

paulben said:

If I have a sub meter do I pay an extra standing charge and is it expensive having a sub meter fitted .

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You first speak to your local water authority about how they view r/o water. All water that goes into your property is metered. You pay a standing charge on that meter and you pay a sewage charge on all your water as well. This sewage charge is to treat sewage. All water used is treated as sewage for your bill, even the water you put on the garden.

If your r/o waste water goes into the grey water system then you might be able to have sewage charge removed from that as well as your pure water. If that is the case then you buy your own water meter and fit it before your r/o. You then give them a water useage figure every month and they remove (credit, refund) the sewage charge from that.

For tax purposes you work out the cost of the water your r/o has used by using the readings from your fitted water meter.

You can buy a water meter from an Ebay supplier. Its your meter and you don't pay a standing charge on that.

paulben said:

If I have a sub meter do I pay an extra standing charge and is it expensive having a sub meter fitted .

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No extra charge you will get two water bills one for the water used in the house this will be so much per cubic meter of water and so much per cubic meter of sewage charge . The water for out side you will only pay for the water per cubic meter 

i cannot remember exactly about the cost of the extra meter as it was fitted about 15 years ago but think they told be it would be around £100 but don’t think they ever billed me for it 

Hi@spruce have you successfully got a credit refund from Northumbrian Water?

I rang up last May when I started producing water on a grander scale and as we are on the Taylor Wimpey estate in Skelton we have a water meter.

The lady on the phone had to speak to her manager and all he said would be if I wanted a meter that they could take readings from officially I'd have to pay for a separate meter (approx £1000… and connection) with business rates.

I have a separate meter on outside tap and waste outlet so know my daily usage/flow rates but they just said that's all they can do for me. It'll be rough figure for tax purposes.

Using approx 1900 litres a day (4 nights a week) to make 800 pure my standing order is at £25. (With a family of 5.) It had been £46 then 6 months at £89 but they've changed it again after taking a meter reading. Still cheaper producing myself then buying from the franchise and work about 3.5-4.5 days a week.

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You state sewerage charge to be knocked off the bill but where is your water going from the drain valve? Mines going straight down the drain i dont know what others do

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Mattymarske said:

Hi@spruce have you successfully got a credit refund from Northumbrian Water?

I rang up last May when I started producing water on a grander scale and as we are on the Taylor Wimpey estate in Skelton we have a water meter.

The lady on the phone had to speak to her manager and all he said would be if I wanted a meter that they could take readings from officially I'd have to pay for a separate meter (approx £1000… and connection) with business rates.

I have a separate meter on outside tap and waste outlet so know my daily usage/flow rates but they just said that's all they can do for me. It'll be rough figure for tax purposes.

Using approx 1900 litres a day (4 nights a week) to make 800 pure my standing order is at £25. (With a family of 5.) It had been £46 then 6 months at £89 but they've changed it again after taking a meter reading. Still cheaper producing myself then buying from the franchise and work about 3.5-4.5 days a week.

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Hi Matty, The reply I gave was based on what other windies have reported from dealing with their local water authorities.

I'm not on a water meter. The problem is that we are on the coast and all the waste water goes into one pot. I know Guisborough has a sewage treatment works near where the Shell Service Station is. The new estates have a twin waste water/sewage system. Upleatham has a small sewage treatment works but I don't know if Skelton has one. I don't recall ever seeing one. (There is a 'treatment' works diagonally opposite Asda but that was to treat the 'red' water poluting the stream that runs past Mill Farm at the bottom of Saltburn Bank. There is also a large dome structure that was built on the farm off Skelton Ellers on the Guisborough to Skelton road just past the Upleatham turn off. I have never known what that is.) Skelton and Saltburn are linked together for address purposes.

I understand that Northumbrian Water are not the most helpful when it comes to window cleaners. I think they have threatened a couple with business rates.

I would do what you have done and put a 'cheap' meter on your r/o supply line and record the amount of water you use. I would then claim that amount against tax. I would also ensure that my r/o didn't  throw 3 liters of water to waste whilst making 1 liter like my previous 450gpd r/o did. I would try to see if I could save a bit more and get the waste to pure ratio closer to 50/50. Our water is 123ppm atm so we have some waggle room.

So many houses on the Wilton Bank estate have voluntarily gone onto a water meter in the hope of saving water. A few have found that they haven't saved much even with reducing their water usage. I keep a low profile and none of the vans were/are lettered up displaying what we do. We have numerous visits in the street by Northumbrian Water looking for water leaks so I often wonder if they have the ability to correlate meter reading data with actual consumption to make individual user usage assumptions.

I clean the neighbours houses as well.

If I remember correctly, I think David Kent sells water for 5p a liter, but you have to prearrange a time when the office is open. He has a number buying water from him.

There was another business that operated years ago in Redcar called Dindales. About 12 years ago I asked them how much they would charge to fill my 3 x 125 liter tanks on my then trailer. They wanted £18 + VAT.

ALPINEYORKS said:

You state sewerage charge to be knocked off the bill but where is your water going from the drain valve? Mines going straight down the drain i dont know what others do

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Down hear providing the waste water water doesn’t go down a drain owned by the water company you don’t pay the sewage charge on it , I put my waist water on the garden and they are happy with that ,they came and inspected what I was doing about 15 years ago and I have hurd nothing from them since