water standing charges

A question about : water standing charges

for the first time we are living in a property with a water meter, its expensive.

I understand why the standing charge is made:

cost of sending bills, collecting payments, dealing with enquiries, (as per the bill)

I do not understand why

1) the standing charges are based on your usage?
2) there are 2 standing chgs (metered water & metered wastewater)?
only one reading and one bill

Best answers:

• the standing charges are a set amount per year + your usage paid per unit
• If you can prove your property has a soakaway, you might not have to pay the surface water drainage charge.
  For waste water, they assume you send 90% of mains water you use to drainage - if you can prove you send considerably less than this, you might get a reduction.
• Welcome to the forum.
  There is only a fixed single standing charge for water supply and another for waste water(i.e. sewerage). The standing charge can vary with the size of mains water pipe, but most domestic properties have the smallest size.
  In addition to the standing charges there is a price for each m3 of water and m3 of sewerage.
  Some companies have an addition charge for surface water drainage. This is if water from gutters and land enters the sewerage system, if it goes to a soakaway you can claim relief from that charge.