Water Shortage - How to save a quarter of our water.

[Toodles McGinty]

To install a water meter takes about 15 mins for the guy to come and do it and it’s free. If it CAN BE FITTED INSIDE and you WANT it outside it’s £160. When the guy came to install mine I didn’t want it inside I wanted it in the pavement outside because I would have to disturb the back of a cupboard to access the pipes and IF IT CANT BE FITTED INSIDE it’s free to fit outside, I persuaded the guy that it couldn’t be fitted inside and he agreed. They came and dug up the main ( new fitted main ) it took a few hours and they fitted my meter deep in the floor under the pavement.

The technology they have now means they only have to drive past to read it with a special reader . Good that innit .

Mine was outside when I moved in. My water bills went up almost double compared to what we used in our old place.

I asked them to check for leaks. They insisted it was fine.

As I said, once they moved the meter inside the property, the bill reduced, so United Utilities concluded there must be a leak between the old meter and the property.

Even though they know there is a leak, they have made no attempt to fix it. Personally, it's not my problem any more. Collectively, we are paying more for water because there's a leak.

[gsgsgs]

My meter was fitted outside, it was so long ago I had it fitted don't recall there being an option of inside, not that I would have wanted it so. It's easy to access and easy to read.

My neighbour was told it would be fitted inside foc or outside for a charge unless as said previously it can't be fitted inside, when UU visited the guy took one look and said I'll report back and have it fitted outside foc.

My current DD is £19.23 a month but latest bill says August will be £15.45 then £19.90 not quite sure how the work that one out?

[MICK/GILLY]

If they think there was a leak and you have been paying more they have some sort of recompense scheme it’s in the small print. If your metered bill fluctuates a few pounds either way ( due to your average usage ) under £20 then that’s still saving you over £30 a month because you have a meter. So if you save even £350 a year you have done well. Also if there’s a hosepipe ban and you don’t use a hosepipe ( watering the garden is pennies ) you don’t pay unlike non metered users that pay for something then they are told they can’t use it but still must pay.

The guy that came to fit my meter ( and I got him to get them to fit it outside ) told me in his house he and his wife AND his wife’s friend who was staying with them a while paid half what it was with a meter after it was fitted and the two ladies were never out of the bathroom he said I couldn’t loose with a meter living on my own de da da dey.

[gsgsgs]

Water meter calculator

[Toodles McGinty]

Looks like we're 'officially' in drought conditions.

No surprise when we've had little rainfall for months. Same across most of Europe.

So it's hosepipe bans, crops failing, animals eating their winter feed already, which of course will have a knock on effect in the shops eventually. Stand pipes and bottled water deliveries.

I don't mind doing my bit. As I mentioned earlier, I try to conserve water.

Fair enough, we can't predict the lack of rainfall that far in advance. But what we can do is prepare for it. But we don't. Because once again massive corporations are more interested in serving the greed of their shareholders than serving the country. And through privatisation, the profits are going abroad. China, Kuwait etc have shares in Thames Water.

I read today for the whole of England and Wales, the daily loss – from leaks and other losses – from all of the two nations’ main water companies is 3 BILLION litres, a fifth of their total supply. Daily. What - and I cannot stress this strongly enough - the actual f...?

Since privatisation water bills have risen. Fair enough, you expect that over time. But the investment in the infrastructure has either flatlined or declined. The individual bosses of these private companies have earned £34 million in the past two years. For doing what?

Yes, droughts will happen, and happen more frequently. But we have enough rainfall here to sail through them with the right water management.

But instead, it's hosepipe bans for us, farmers once again on their knees, and vast profits to companies we have no choice in.

And don't get me started on them turning every river in the country into open sewers.

[Alikado]

Looks like we're 'officially' in drought conditions.

No surprise when we've had little rainfall for months. Same across most of Europe.

So it's hosepipe bans, crops failing, animals eating their winter feed already, which of course will have a knock on effect in the shops eventually. Stand pipes and bottled water deliveries.

I don't mind doing my bit. As I mentioned earlier, I try to conserve water.

Fair enough, we can't predict the lack of rainfall that far in advance. But what we can do is prepare for it. But we don't. Because once again massive corporations are more interested in serving the greed of their shareholders than serving the country. And through privatisation, the profits are going abroad. China, Kuwait etc have shares in Thames Water.

I read today for the whole of England and Wales, the daily loss – from leaks and other losses – from all of the two nations’ main water companies is 3 BILLION litres, a fifth of their total supply. Daily. What - and I cannot stress this strongly enough - the actual f...?

Since privatisation water bills have risen. Fair enough, you expect that over time. But the investment in the infrastructure has either flatlined or declined. The individual bosses of these private companies have earned £34 million in the past two years. For doing what?

Yes, droughts will happen, and happen more frequently. But we have enough rainfall here to sail through them with the right water management.

But instead, it's hosepipe bans for us, farmers once again on their knees, and vast profits to companies we have no choice in.

And don't get me started on them turning every river in the country into open sewers.

Saw an article on the Telegraph website (paywall) since privatisation 80 odd reservoirs had been flogged off and not replaced mostly by 3 companies, Severn Trent , Southern & Thames.
Where is the water shortage?

[Dirac]

Here's a relevant question.

If our private water companies have been investing a small portion of our water bills in new reservoirs to keep up with the increasing population, how many new reservoirs have been built in the last 30 years?

UK population in 1992 - 57.58 million.
UK population in 2022 - 67.44 million (estimated).

Population increase = 17%.

[Toodles McGinty]

Here's a relevant question.

If our private water companies have been investing a small portion of our water bills in new reservoirs to keep up with the increasing population, how many new reservoirs have been built in the last 30 years?

UK population in 1992 - 57.58 million.
UK population in 2022 - 67.44 million (estimated).

Population increase = 17%.

Guessing without Googling, I'd say none. Or a number you could count on one hand.

[Dirac]

Guessing without Googling, I'd say none. Or a number you could count on one hand.

You're good at this.

Apparently the last new reservoir in the UK was built in 1991.

https://inews.co.uk/news/environment...-years-1793414

[Toodles McGinty]

You're good at this.

Apparently the last new reservoir in the UK was built in 1991.

https://inews.co.uk/news/environment...-years-1793414

No surprise. I read earlier that water companies prefer to draw groundwater than use reservoirs as it's cheaper to clean.

It's high time we had a government that put people before greed. There's nothing wrong with profit, but there's a whole lot wrong with greed.

I'm tired of reading about crisis after crisis, all of which involve fat cats getting richer at some point.

We really do need to nationalise essential services.

[local]

Well the truth is "environmental concerns" stop new reservoir building so some defence for one of the worst debt laden water companies at least;


Plans for an enormous reservoir near Abingdon should be halted due to significant environmental concerns says the Vale of White Horse District Council in its published response to Thames Water’s public consultation on futureproofing water supplies in South East England. I


https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/plan...ous-reservoir/


I don't think it's the only water company that has hit the environmental buffers.

[Alikado]

Well the truth is "environmental concerns" stop new reservoir building so some defence for one of the worst debt laden water companies at least;


Plans for an enormous reservoir near Abingdon should be halted due to significant environmental concerns says the Vale of White Horse District Council in its published response to Thames Water’s public consultation on futureproofing water supplies in South East England. I


https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/plan...ous-reservoir/


I don't think it's the only water company that has hit the environmental buffers.

The defence soon starts to evaporate when you look at the number of reservoirs that they have closed and sold.

[Dirac]

The defence soon starts to evaporate when you look at the number of reservoirs that they have closed and sold.

It evaporates completely when you look at the date - March 2022.
Whatever happened to forward planning..?

https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/tag/thames-water/