water meter

[Mary Fisher]

As far as I know they are at the consumer's end of the rising main. Well, they are in God's Own County.

Sadly, there are few cobbled streets here these days. The only setts I ever see are those laid at great expense in their turning circles by people with more money than sense. The bit of unadopted Victorian road at the bottom of our street was cobbled until the then Labour Lord Mayor had his installation ceremony at the church there. To avoid the noble body in the expenisve RR being jogged the surface was cushioned with wall to wall tarmac.

Recently they installed 'pillows' as a traffic calming thingy. I pointed out to the engineer that if they stripped the tarmac at the bottom that would calm traffic, she said oh they couldn't do that, it would damage cars. I said only if they were doing more than 20mph - the aim (which of course isn't enforced). She said that no-one would keep to 20mph.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ..........

WHERE'S MY PRESCRIPTION?

Oh. I hadn't noticed ... Not a good enough excuse anyway. You'll have to get a note from your mum.

That's no defence. A hail would get you with no problems :-)

Think Agincourt.

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

The next occupant of your house is also lumbered with all the diy things you do.

Mary

[T i m]

But that's still an extended (8bit) chr and therefore has no place on a 7bit usenet message?

And thinking isn't my strong point ..

Yes .. you said .. ;-)

Don't forget I'm quite young ...

That means, in Monopoly money,

Ah, ok .. and I can't stand board (bored) games .. throw the dice (chance), pick a card (chance) move yer piece and slide back down the snake ... ;-( Now blasting 20 aliens with yer plasma rifle .. now 'that's' entertaining (especially at 1280 x 1024, 32 bit and 100 fps!) !

Good .. glad we have that settled .. ;-)

You don't .. ah ..

You wouldn't have liked me with

Nope, don't *like* you Mary .. I luv ya ;-)

You wouldn't have known me. I

Oh ;-(

Sometimes. Sometimes walking

I don't think I want to know what the anal gesic is for .. anyway, I bet you are glad that's behind you now .. ? ;-)

The

And some younger folk .. like the ache that's in my left arm, forearm, shoulder (don't know where) and the tingling in the night .. and I daren't stretch first thing in the morning or I'll get cramp in my calf and the tinnitus get's unbearable at times and ...

Ok, but my doctor will probably give me some (but thanks for the offer Mary) ;-)

Love ..

T i m

[John Stumbles]

You get that in tonic water don't you? (Quinine, not night cramps) (Or old folk). Which really needs something to go with it of course. What an excuse ;-)

[Frank Erskine]

That's THEIR problem; not mine.

[Mary Fisher]

Trouble is that enough of the stuff can't be masked with gin ... :-(

Believe me, I've tried :-)

Mary

[T i m]

It could still be YOUR problem if they are high volume water users and you want to sell?

T i m ;-)

[No Spam]

Precisely.

Also if everyone was metered it wouldn't be a problem but all partial metering does is drive up costs for people still on the "rateable value" system.

[Dave Jones]

Don't most fit for free and then give you up to 12 months to decide whether or not you want to be billed that way. Also if they cannot fit one then they assess your bill on other like properties/families in the area.

[chris French]

In message , dave writes

I don't think buyers are really concerned as to whether property has meter or not.

Where it goes I think probably depends on many dependy things.

Ours was installed in the front garden, with a small round metal cover over the hole. Other than being done after some heavy rain, when the clay was rather muddy..... it was fine.

I don't remember if internal fitting was given as an option, but I can't see there would have been anyway to fit it in ours with out some major remodelling of the pipework

[chris French]

which is fine IMO, since our bills even with 2 young kids now are lower than the unmetered neighbours.

[Mary Fisher]

No, it makes people aware of what they're using and might make them more responsible consumers, in which case there won't be the same demands on the water companies.

People in drought ridden countries don't pay high water rates.

Mary

[Vera]

Some are. Personally I wouldn't even consider buying a domestic property with a water meter in this country.

[No Spam]

That might be the case but the SE of England has less rainfall than the Horn of Africa which most would consider a drought ridden area - hence the proposed adoption of desalination plants in the UK to satisfy increasing demand.

Now the money bit:

Water companies in the UK are required to have a certain level of capital expenditure, and as listed companies the shareholders require a certain rate of return on their investment (this being capped by the regulator)

If a water metered customer uses less water the customer pays less BUT as the capital expenditure is fixed that means that other non metered customers have to pay more. Of course if capital expenditure can be reduced or deferred by everyone moving to metered supplies then everyone benefits - until then metered customers (usually) pay less and "rateable value" customers subsidise them.

[Mary Fisher]

Why?

Mary

[T i m]

But with one older 'kid' and a low rateable value I don't think our bill would be less and I believe the waste costs stay the same?

T i m

[T i m]

You think? These are the same folk who wash the car / water the gardens / flush a full 2 gallons every time even though there is a drought on. They also have all the filament / halogen lights on all the time .. because they can afford it. On top of that they don't recycle "we don't get paid to to it" and replace the TV / kitchen / car at regular intervals to stay in fashion (creating more waste). (They are easily spotted by the empty 50" Plasma TV box on the pavement by the dustbin, not flat packed and put with the cardboard)

in which case there won't be the same demands on the

True, we should all pay for what we use .. but while they can get away with it ... ?

Because they don't have any water?

T i m

[manatbandq]

Whyever not? Unless you use a *lot* of water (in which case you should be metered IMHO) then you will almost certainly save money by switching to a meter.

MBQ

[manatbandq]

the

Well, my father water meter (in GOC) was fitted in the front garden. Here in what used to be the Anglian water region every one I've seen (lots of houses) has been fitted in the street, but then I wouldn't see the ones fitted indoors, IYSWIM.

MBQ

[Mary Fisher]

"Increasing demand" are the key words. People want more than they need.

As a shareholder in a water company I'd be happy to have smaller dividends if it meant that less water was being used.

Mary