do you use a lot of water?

I have no idea what my usage is but I have always tried to use very little water. My shower lasts no more than about 2 minutes, no bath; I don’t have a garden to water, just a few pots. I try to follow the “If it’s yellow, let it mellow…”etc.

No idea either
Don’t think I use a lot apart from watering the garden in dry periods

I use whatever water I need

I’m guessing that none of you have water meters? If you did you would know exactly how much you were using and would probably have lower bills.

I do have a water meter. We only read it the other day. (February-July 2023). I think it averaged out about 5.9 cubic whatevers a month. I think that’s not bad for two of us. It’s 11% down on a similar period previously.

We try and be careful and mindful of water use, and I think every home should have a meter, paying for what you use, same as electric, gas, ….

I do have a water meter but I don’t read it in fact I don’t think I would know how to get to see it

Whoops posted too soon the meter is outside in the ground I could nt tread it without something to open it and get on my hands and knees

Bluebelle the breakdown is detailed on your bill.

BlueBelle

Our water meter is under the pavement outside our house. It involves prising the cover up, kneeling down on a kneeler, lifting up another cover about a foot down, and then reading the figures on the dial whilst trying not to let your glasses slip off your face and tumble down the hole! On a dull day a torch is helpful, which is why we try and do it on a sunny one.

DH usually does the reading, I make a note on a bit of paper then I get down and double check it as the figures are not awfully clear.

Bit of a faff, which is why it doesn’t get read too often, but I like to do it now and again to make sure we are on track.

Should add the water company read the meters either yearly or half yearly, so they do get accurate readings also.

NotAGran55

I’m guessing that none of you have water meters? If you did you would know exactly how much you were using and would probably have lower bills.

the water meter is located outside the house and the lid needs prising up, it is low down too. I never read mine, I know exactly how much water I use. How much is your bill notagran55? My last bill for 6 months was £104 and that is wessex water, the second most expensive water supplier in the country

The point is, I think, to be mindful of water usage. We all have different needs but small changes cumulatively do make a difference.

I don't feel that we all need to know exactly how much we use - just that we can find ways to use less were we can - even turning the tap off whilst we brush out teeth will add up.

We have a smart water meter and an app to track daily usage. I never bother checking as we use what we need to use. The monthly direct debit is fixed annually and we cannot change company for a better deal.

The water meters here are smart - so send readings to Thames Water. The only reason I'd have to reach ours would be to turn off the water (quarter turn) for the whole house - for plumbing, as the under sink tap has seized up.

I think we were brought up (here) with plentiful 'free' water - so we used a lot, left taps and hoses running, spent ages in showers etc.

Now we have to change, especially in the water-stressed areas. Paying for what you use seems sensible to encourage careful consumption.

There are schemes to reduce your bill if you're on a low income. Thames Water's (called Watersure I believe) looks at your 'residual income', after mortgage (or rent) and Council Tax, then, if your bill is over a certain percentage (3%?) of that, your bill is halved.

I use 114 litres a month, my bill has gone down from £47 to £14 a month since I went on to a water meter. All the information is in my online account, I don’t need to read the meter Affinity take the reading automatically and generate a bill every 6 mths. I’m very happy my bill has reduced by £33 a month. I live alone in a 2 bed house. The meter is located on the pavement in front of the house.

Reading this, I realise how fortunate we are. We do not have a water meter here in Glasgow, the bill is included in our Council tax.

However, despite living in an often rainy Glasgow, we are very mindful of our water usage. We have a water butt and do not use our garden hose in hot weather, despite all our neighbours having sprinklers on their lawn.

We live close to two reservoirs and despite the biblical proportions of rain we have had recently, they are still very empty.

I know the details are on my bill notagran but that’s not at hand
I pay£11 a month so I don’t think im a heavy user however I’m like some others on here my water meter is virtually inaccessible to me unless I ma contortionist with great eyesight so I don’t ever read it

We use what we need. We don’t have a water meter.
Instead of pushing water meters the water companies should concern themselves with stopping the leaks and invest in new reservoirs. Our population is growing by more than half a million people a year with all the increased demand that creates and so clearly the water companies need to invest in their infrastructure instead expecting people to cut back on their use.
By definition pensioner households will use less water than families. I don’t agree with paying for water per use because that would penalise families.

Just looked at ours we’ve used 150m3 This year we pay £53 a month Yorkshire water. It does seem a lot, but we suffer with achey backs so have a bath most days.

As someone who lived off grid for 20 years and the spent a lot of time in in Spain in the motohome I havnt changed my habit of being very aware of how precious water is.

We used 26 gallons a day. Do you have a leak somewhere as 50 seems a lot for two of you.

The water companies don’t seem to think that water is a precious resource because if they did they would fix the leaks that lose millions of gallons every year.

Always mindful of how precious it is. Recall going on holiday to somewhere and being distressed to see a hosepipe running with nobody in attendance, it went on for ages just running……

tanith

I use 114 litres a month, my bill has gone down from £47 to £14 a month since I went on to a water meter. All the information is in my online account, I don’t need to read the meter Affinity take the reading automatically and generate a bill every 6 mths. I’m very happy my bill has reduced by £33 a month. I live alone in a 2 bed house. The meter is located on the pavement in front of the house.

I'm not sure how you manage to use so little, tanith. 114 litres a month is a tiny amount!