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The latest research estimates that the average household uses around fifty thousand litres of water in any one year for drinking and bathing. This amount of water, to give an idea of scale is the amount needed to fill a private swimming pool, to add more realism to this sum, if a person was to buy this water in bottles, the annual cost would be around twenty thousand pounds.
When this is taken into account the bill we pay seem to be considerable value; even so, in recent years the price of water has increased. As a result of these rises in cost and the huge amounts of wastage in many households meters are now being installed in certain geographical areas, specifically the areas that experience shortages on a regular basis.
In the UK every water board has control over a particular region, meaning that for those living in an area; they have no control over which company to choose. The result is that these companies have a practical monopoly and can hence charge almost any amount they wish. As a response to this the government set up Ofwat, the official watchdog for the industry that attempts to provide some semblance of regulation for companies. The work of Ofwat has been especially important in devising ways to implement meters into many homes, particularly in areas where shortages occur frequently.
To entice homeowners into subscribing to water meters there are figures released that estimate that on average a household can save approximately one hundred and twenty pounds on their bill. This is not the case for everybody however; generally houses that have more bedrooms than inhabitants are likely to benefit from having a meter whilst those who do not will probably find it more expensive.
It is believed however that with the installation of a meter, households strive to use less water; in effect it places a psychological barrier to water usage within the home. There are however extenuating circumstances that will make the installation of a meter extremely expensive, for instance if a leak occurs, the homeowner must pay for all the wasted water.
While in some regions of the UK there will be a choice for homeowners to install meters, in some regions their installation will be forced. This is especially true in the south of England in counties such as Kent and Essex where in the next decade or so, the forced roll out of metering is likely if not inevitable. In Kent, particularly the area of Dover, the local water company has developed plans to place meters in more than twenty thousand homes throughout the region. The reason these plans are being trialled in this part of the country is that this area experiences some of the highest usage levels and for droughts not to become a serious problem a proactive measure needs to be taken.
While this plan is currently limited to the Kent area it is probable that if successful it will be rolled out across the south of England and eventually the entire country. The result should be that if the country is forced to undertake metering, consumption levels will fall considerably eliminating the need for hosepipe bans and in the worst cases, rationing. These plans will naturally be put in action in waterscarce areas to assess the level of success until they are enacted more widely. Ultimately the government and water companies have a responsibility to limit the usage of this liquid of life to ensure we all have enough.
Author Resource:-
Current affairs specialist Thomas Pretty studies the plans for water meters to be rolled out all across the country and how they can work towards reducing shortages and bills.
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