Water Bills: Should You Get a Meter?

Water is the bill people examine least. Unmetered households pay a fixed amount based on the old rateable value of the property, which has nothing to do with how much water they actually use. For a lot of homes that is a bad deal, and switching to a meter is free.

The rule of thumb

The standard test is simple: if there are more bedrooms in your home than people living in it, a meter is likely to save you money. A closely related version is whether there are more people than bedrooms — if so, stay unmetered.

It is a rough guide rather than a guarantee, but it is right often enough to be the starting point.

Do the actual calculation

Do not rely on the rule alone. Use the free water meter calculator run by the Consumer Council for Water. You enter your household size, your habits and your current bill, and it estimates your metered cost.

You will need your current annual bill and a realistic account of your usage — how many showers and baths, whether you run the washing machine daily, whether you water a garden in summer.

Who tends to gain

Metering usually favours:

• Single people and couples in houses with spare bedrooms.
• Anyone in a property with a high rateable value relative to how much water they use.
• People who are out at work most of the day.
• Households without a garden to water or a car to wash.

It usually does not favour large families, households with several children, or anyone with heavy garden use.

Getting one fitted

In England and Wales you have the right to request a meter, and your supplier normally fits it free. If it is not physically possible to fit one — common in flats and some shared supplies — you can usually ask for an assessed charge instead, which is a fixed tariff based on typical usage for a property like yours. That is often still cheaper than rateable value billing.

Scotland works differently, with water charges generally collected alongside council tax, so the metering option is not the same. Check with Scottish Water for your position.

The trial period

This is the part that makes it low risk. In England and Wales, if you have a meter installed and find your bills have gone up, you can normally ask to switch back within a set trial period — commonly around twelve months, but confirm the exact terms with your supplier.

That means you can test it. If it works, you keep it. If it does not, you revert.

Note the trial usually applies to the person who requested the meter, not to someone who moved into a home that already had one.

Assistance schemes worth checking

Several schemes exist and go widely unclaimed:

• WaterSure caps bills for metered customers on qualifying benefits who either have three or more children or a medical condition requiring high water use. It can cap your bill at the regional average, which is a substantial saving for a high-use household.
• Social tariffs. Every water company runs some form of reduced tariff for low-income customers. Names, thresholds and generosity vary considerably by region, so ask your own supplier what they offer.
• Leak allowances. If a leak on your supply pipe caused a spike, most suppliers will consider an allowance once it is repaired.
• Priority Services Register for extra support if you are of pensionable age, disabled or have a chronic illness.

Cutting usage once you are metered

On a meter, using less water directly cuts the bill — and because much of it is heated, it cuts your energy bill at the same time.

• Request free water-saving devices. Most suppliers give away cistern displacement bags, shower timers and tap aerators.
• Shorter showers, and skip the bath when a shower will do.
• Fix dripping taps and running toilets. A continuously running loo can waste a startling volume.
• Run washing machines and dishwashers full rather than half empty.
• Use a water butt for the garden.

Check for a leak first

If your metered bill is unexpectedly high, test for a leak before anything else. Turn off every water-using appliance and tap, take a meter reading, wait an hour without using water, and read it again. Movement means a leak somewhere on your supply.

Tariffs, schemes and trial periods vary by supplier and nation. Confirm the details with your own water company before deciding.