Water usage or how to make use of your water bill.
My rental properties were all on rated water bills: this is where a guess is made on water usage based on the number of people living in a property. So, this was a little frustrating at the time, but when I bought a house, this was one of the things I really wanted and got each time.
One of my good friends thought this was insane: why would anyone want that?
I live in the UK, but my grandfather had been based in the middle east for some of his working life and he was keen to instill that water wasn’t a right but a priviledge. I am careful about my usage and fixing any leaks or drips as soon as possible. I havested water for outdoor use, showered to keep clean, and made use of short and eco programmes to save power and water.
To be honest, a water meter seemed like a good way of being rewarded for this behaviour. I have never thought about it more than that. A one bed flat in Bath was rated at £240 a year. My five bed house outside of Ipswich with two adults and a baby was water metered at £180 a year. No brainer!
Until just recently, I never gave it a second thought. 60% of the houses in the UK now have a water meter and that includes all the new builds. On average, people with water meters use less than 82% of the water than those in rated buildings, over the total time in a property. As the population in the UK is growing, water demands and meeting them is not going to be a “someone else will solve this” type of problem.
Conceptually, water demand figures are given in litres, while your water bill is in m3. So, let’s have a look at our family’s usage:
| Date | Reading (m3) | Read? | Billed Amount (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/11/2022 | 623 | Yes | |
| 29/01/2023 | 651 | No | 53.86 |
| 10/05/2023 | 687 | Yes | 73.13 |
| 30/07/2023 | 715 | No | 61.53 |
| 10/11/2023 | 753 | Yes | 82.87 |
| 28/01/2024 | 781 | No | 61.35 |
| 09/05/2024 | 821 | Yes | 89.63 |
| 11/08/2024 | 856 | No | 82.85 |
| 21/11/2024 | 883 | Yes | 66.90 |
OKKKKK…
I’m trying to work out “our usage”. Now, using the actual reading fro the 11th November 2022 until the 10th November 2023, we used 130m3 which is 130,000 litres. The time period is 364 days, so 130,000/364 litres/day or 357 litres a day. At the time, there were three of us in the house, so 357/3 = 119 litres a day per person.
We were not “being careful” at this time. We were having 3 – 6 baths a week, between the three of us, for example, daily showers often on the same days as the baths… But the UK is trying to reduce the usage per person from the average of 146 litres per day per person to 120 litres.
Oh, well, you’re OK then! Especially on a wet little island.
Well, let’s look at basic usage around the house. There’s always room for improvement!
| Task | What’s using water? | Quantity (l) |
|---|---|---|
| Flushing toilet | Half flush | 3 |
| Flushing toilet | Full flush | 6 |
| Bath (p shaped) | 75% full | 179 |
| Washing up | 75% full | 68 |
| Using dishwasher | Eco wash | 14 |
| Washing machine | Cotton wash | 70 |
| Washing machine | Eco cotton wash | 50 |
| Washing machine | Quick wash | 36 |
| Shower | 5 minute wash | 40 |
| Washing a vehicle | Car – mix of bucket and hose | 100 |
| Washing a vehicle | Motorbike – mix of bucket and hose | 20 |
There are options, if we want to reduce our water usage…
Choosing devices with half-loads makes a big difference – I miss our half-load washing machine and dishwasher!
Posted: January 11th, 2025 under Driving off the grid.