water meter

Try it in Hackney

Reply to
Vera
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If you meant that as a troll or a joke I apologise but if not...

That's a great idea to keep the rich healthy and reduce the numbers of the poor. Think about it again.

Reply to
Vera

Normally I find myself agreeing with what you say, Mary. For once I don't think I do. Purifying water does not so far I know use a lot of energy. Bacteria do all the work. The energy is only needed to turn the spray bars and do some pumping. I think that water is so central and essential that it should be sold as cheaply as possible without profit. I was on a Chamber of Commerce commitee when the whole shebang was being privatised. There were only two of us who had doubts about it. I could not see what benefit there was. If profits have to be distributed then prices would go up. Efficiency in private companies is often poor. Councils generally ran water plants well.

As so it has come to pass. We are now made to feel bad about watering our gardens, giving our kids a bit of fun in the summer and *flushing the bog*. Oh tempera, oh mores!

Just as with rail, water should be nationalised. The whole privatisation idea is a disaster and this lot of industrial lap-dogs are worse than the Tories. At least the Tories could smell a rat from their mates and knew that they were only doing it to make a buck. This lot of preachers don't know their a**es from their apices.

What's needed is to stop wasting water. It should be recycled through multiple purifiers rather than piped down to the sea and thrown away. Yes, we are short of rain in some parts of this country but by re-use we could all have all we wanted.

I was interested by the comment about meters and resale. Meters are yet another family-unfriendly device. I won't have one because I have a large family-type house and don't want to put people off with a meter. I chuckle when I hear people congratulating themselves on the savings they've made. Just wait to see what impact there will be on the price of the house.

Peter Scott

Reply to
Peter Scott

You can have too many of those too :-(

Mary

Reply to
Mary Fisher

I wouldn't try anything in Hackney.

That's not fair, I've never been to Hackney, I apologise unreservedly.

Mary

Reply to
Mary Fisher

Certainly not as a troll, not a joke either, I think it's always worth thinking about alternatives which aren't obvious. Devil's advocate if you like.

You're not clear. Do you mean think about your previous sentence? That's obvious. If you mean think about my question, I have thought about it again. I can't see any drawbacks.

The rich - whoever they are - aren't always healthy and the poor - whoever they are - seem to be able to afford things which aren't healthy.

And since we are ruled by New Labour Our Glorious Leader will ensure that pure drinking water will be affordable for the poor - won't he?

Mary

Reply to
Mary Fisher

Reply to
Mary Fisher

.... which if I recall my lessons correctly are actually chemical reactions involving Potassium and Sodium Ions permeating across inter-cellular membranes - which we 'perceive as 'electrical activity' using our oscilloscopes. It's like saying Lightening is Sound-impulses when all you can perceive is Thunder.

Reply to
Brian Sharrock

electricity,

How about utilising the Milkman-network to deliver _free_ potable water in containers -as much as the household needs. Then utilising the water distribution pipery to deliver a non-potable but 'clean' water supply for washing, garden-irrigation, etc.

Reply to
Brian Sharrock

It's only anecdotal, but; Our Water Board ^W Company did a no-cost optional change from Rates ~ Metered-charging a few years ago. It's very easy to see which households opted for the change as the inspection-covers are different sizes. Guy down the road, ten houses away, changed his. House went on the market, at unbelievable high cost, the four-bedroomed family house went for the full asking-price within four days on the market.

From memory we're paying about a pound a ton for water. Seems more fair than "because your heridament has a rateable value of £XXX we'll charge you £xxx * fudgefactor for water - whether you use it or not"

Reply to
Brian Sharrock

Tell that to epileptics.

Mary

Reply to
Mary Fisher

That's an excellent idea - or wold be if there was still a nation-wide milkman network :-( It could be revived. When I shopped in supermarkets I ws absolutely amazed at the shelf space given to bottled water. It suggests that few people drink tap water. Needless to say, I do.

In the late 1980s or early 1990s a bottled water company DID use the network to distribute water. I wouldn't have known about it except that I worked for a professional photographer who did some publicity shots - with my hand and white overall cuff playing the milkman.

My breath was also in some bubbles for a Boots bath product advert ... but I'm fairly modest about my modelling career ...

Back to water, some years ago there was also a bottled water club - along the lines of wine clubs. Wonder what happened to that?

Mary

Mary

Reply to
Mary Fisher

Is that the Plain English Campaign translation?

Mary

Reply to
Mary Fisher

Surely paying £50/year for metered water. Which is cost for a modest single consumer. Has got to be more affordable than a flat rate fixed fee of typically £200/year (or more).

There are already people who can't afford water, making the water charges related to consumption gives them the possibility being sparing, but probably won't make the slightest difference.

Since the water companies are obligated to get people on to metering, and they want to do the blocks of flats last (where the savings for the consumer would be vast) we can expect that increasingly better incentives to go for metering will emerge in the next few years.

Reply to
Ed Sirett

You pay for food that is equally necessary.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

I wouldn't dream of challenging you, Ed, but isn't the above because of environmental considerations and not consumer costs? I suspect so. I hope so.

Mary

Reply to
Mary Fisher

I doubt it...

Cynic? Moi?

Reply to
Vera

Why?

What other reason can you suggest?

Mary

Reply to
Mary Fisher

Profit

Reply to
Vera

If it wasn't for electrically powered incubator I almost certainly wouldn't be here.

Should I have died as a baby Mary ;-)

Owain

Reply to
Owain

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