Big water bill in new house

A question about : Big water bill in new house

Hello everyone

Firstly to introduce myself. We recently bought our first house. This has been an exciting time for us but also brought some very new experiences.... being a homeowner brings new responsibilities There's a whole bunch of question I have about different things so I'm looking forward to speaking with posters.

The first things is water bills and possible leaks. Oh dear

In our previous home (rented) where we lived for five year our annual water bill was about Ј260. It wasn't meter, it was rateable value. We was with Thames Water.

In our new home, we're on a meter and our bill has shot up to about Ј650 a year. We're now in Essex and have two water suppliers - Essex and Suffolk, and Anglian Water.

Our six month usage came to 127 cubic metres so annually we're looking at 254. That seems way above the high side of use and we're puzzled why our bill can almost treble simply by moving. I know things vary but wow!

We've check for leaks. All i can see is a drip in the toilet cistern and a drip in the cold water tank. Over a two hour period of no water use our meter changed from 244-280 to 244-281. Is that a lot?

Other than that, does anyone have any tips or views on whether this sort of bill is excessively high. We're a couple with two very young children (nursery age).

Thanks!

Best answers:

• There is no point in making any comparisons between charges based on Rateable Value and metering.
  The UK average is 55 cubic metres, per person, per year; so 220 for the four of you(children use as much!). 254 a year is 15% above average and much of that will be re-educating yourself on conserving water. There are hundreds of websites with tips on saving water,
  The water meter moving from 244.280 to 244.281 means you used 1 litre(one thousandth of a cubic metre). Certainly not a big leak - about 4 cubic metres a year.
• In my first quarter on a meter i have used 27 cubic meters .
  Now ordered the free loo flush water saving stuff from my water companies web site .But only one of me so not sure where the 55/60 average usage comes from .
• Water meter estimated here.
  https://www.ccwater.org.uk/watermetercalculator/
  Our bill shot up recently, this was due to leaky cisterns. Advice from Severn Tren, was to turn off at stop !!!!, next to meter under sink overnight. Do not run toilets or other taps. Take a reading. Then if reading had increased overnight, the problem was in the supply. If the reading was the same, then turn on stop !!!!. If the meter moves on reset, then probably the leak is your side.
  Quick trip to the men who wear orange, and some washers for the toilet cisterns will have you sorted. Average is 55 m3 per adult in a year. Also you can reduce the amount of water in the cistern by putting hippos in them, Severn Trent give them away ten a penny!
  Oh, also check the over flow pipes as well, on a dry day.
• Thanks for all the advice everyone. Looks like the drip is insignificant then.
  I'm shocked water can cost so much. I read somewhere the average bill is about Ј380 a year. We wash ourselves like everyone else does!
  Gas and electric (individually) are cheaper. So is the Sky, phone, broadband package.