Can I refuse access to fit a water meter ?

[poormansporsche]

Like it says ! Ive been having rucks with the water board for 8 years as I have no stopcock outside my house and due to having a flooded bathroom I paid privately to have a stopcock fitted on my property. The water board want to fit a meter but as there is no stopcock outside on the pavement (where the meter is usually fitted) they want to fit it on the stopcock that I had fitted on my own property. Ive told them to F.O ! The contractor has said he will be back with a manager !

Any thoughts ??

Cheers

 

[whitenemesis]

What reason does the company give for wanting to fit a meter?

 

[poormansporsche]

Can't remember exactly think it was government quotas or something

 

[balge]

Metering may be compulsory but I do not believe they need to put it on your property, it's not best practise as they will need access for reads and repairs.
Sounds like the contractor trying it on - to save the cost of an excavation in the walkway.

 

[whitenemesis]

http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/mediacentre/leaflets/prs_lft_101117meters.pdf

Yes, if in a water stress area they can force you to go on a meter but I don't think they can insist it be on your property.

In fact, shouldn't the company have a way of isolating your supply, independent of your installing a stopcock? Somewhere on the public highway?

 

[poormansporsche]

The water board have managed to lose the stopcock from outside my house ! It was there 20 years ago but some contractor or the other has buried it. The water board have dug up outside my house at least 6 times trying to find it but have not been able. They were supposed to fit one but as they have to turn the water off for the whole street for a day or 2 (and pay compo to the effected householders) it has not happened and 8 years down the line its still going on !

 

[Giantvanman]

I am with you; a big fat no to fitting the meter in the house and insisting that if they want one fitted, it should be to the outside stopcock.

If your main water feed was to rupture at a point inside your property boundary, would they come along and fix it gratis? No, because all pipework on your property is your responsibility to maintain. They have the same obligation for pipework up to your boundary and no further which includes finding the stopcock in the street.

I think they've been drinking too much of their own product; I would have the water tested.

 

[Merc Owner 2B]

It's not unusual for meters to leak and introducing additional water-tight joints to your installation increases your chances of failure and repair costs. Definitely agree with you that they must install it in the street.

 

[Giantvanman]

Just a thought; have you spoken to OfWat? - Ofwat*::*Ofwat home page They helped me a few years ago when the water company insisted that one 22mm pipe supplied sufficient water (flow rate and pressure) to four homes………..was sorted about six weeks later after a call to OfWat (and the water company telling them I had reported them) when a much larger bore was installed by the same water company. A happy coincidence, perhaps.

 

[Charles Morgan]

In areas of severe water stress (SE England is one) water companies do have the power to fit a meter and the normal place is by the internal stopcock. If you don't want it there you must suggest an alternative and you are liable to pay for the work.

Since moving house to one with a meter my water bills are a fraction of what they used to be.

 

[grober]

It might be useful to conduct an informal local survey by observation and chatting to the neighbours in the area [ not just your street] to establish what constitutes " normal practice" for meter positioning.

 

[grober]

dup

 

[DSM10000]

I fully concur with Charles, at our previous abode the water bill dropped by well over half when metered.

Now, with a bore hole supplying our water, it is even cheaper

 

[whitenemesis]

In areas of severe water stress (SE England is one) water companies do have the power to fit a meter and the normal place is by the internal stopcock. If you don't want it there you must suggest an alternative and you are liable to pay for the work.

Since moving house to one with a meter my water bills are a fraction of what they used to be.

'Normal' place for the meter round our way is with the stopcock outside the property boundaries.

 

[geraldrobins]

I think the usual place is inside the property, and this is where Severn Trent Water have fitted meters for us over the last 8 years or so. It used to be outside but I believe the thinking is that if you have access to easily read your meter you can manage your water use more economically. Usually new properties have a touch pad placed on the outside wall to enable easy reading by the water company.
But funnily enough my son had a meter fitted recently and they fitted it on the external stopcock in the street.

 

[balge]

Standard mechanical meters are certainly normally fitted to an external stop-tap, the fitting boxes are designed for optional fitting and easy reading and repair of the meter head - smart meters I don't know, they may need to be indoors?
If the water company has lost your stop-tap they have presumably lost your service pipe too, may be worth reporting a 'suspected' leak on your service pipe...if the leakage team can trace your service pipe it should be easy enough to find your old stop-tap and get it re-instated?

 

[markjay]

Our newly-installed water meter is under the pavement in the street, accessible via a manhole cover.

It is rather large object not unlike an unexploded WW2 bomb... I would not let them fit it on our property either.

(Incidentally... we are just one flat in the building... if they wanted to fit similar size meters for each flat, the pavement would not be big enough...)

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I'm a fan of water meters, had them in the last 3 homes and paid half the price for service based on rateable value.

As a rule of thumb, if you have less residents than bedrooms you will save.

I believe that this works best if you live in a smart part of town, less so if you don't.

 

[danch]

I'm a fan of water meters, had them in the last 3 homes and paid half the price for service based on rateable value.

As a rule of thumb, if you have less residents than bedrooms you will save.

I believe that this works best if you live in a smart part of town, less so if you don't.

We noticed the same, had water meter installed & bill dropped by £10 per month

 

[poormansporsche]

Standard mechanical meters are certainly normally fitted to an external stop-tap, the fitting boxes are designed for optional fitting and easy reading and repair of the meter head - smart meters I don't know, they may need to be indoors?
If the water company has lost your stop-tap they have presumably lost your service pipe too, may be worth reporting a 'suspected' leak on your service pipe...if the leakage team can trace your service pipe it should be easy enough to find your old stop-tap and get it re-instated?

This is what we did 8 years ago and they could not sort it. In the eyes of the water company we still have a open leak.

Ofwat and my insurance company were all involved and still it was not sorted. The leak was only fixed when one the water workers handed me a hydrolic press to squash my main water supply pipe "on my head be it" and I was able to change the main inlet tap that was leaking.

I am against a meter because there could be all manor leaks that I an unaware of. The stopcock on my property was fitted by the local pikeys when I had my driveway done and is most likely to be condemned when the water board see it but its a heck of a lot better than anything they came up with !! Least we have some chance of turning our water off in a problem !