MILLIONS face higher water bills amid a torrent of April price rises. In what is effectively a postcode lottery, some will pay up to £36 a year more. In other parts of the country, bills may fall. You can’t switch water supplier but Simon Read and Lucy Alderson know how to limit the pain. Get […]
MILLIONS face higher water bills amid a torrent of April price rises.
In what is effectively a postcode lottery, some will pay up to £36 a year more.
In other parts of the country, bills may fall.
You can’t switch water supplier but Simon Read and Lucy Alderson know how to limit the pain.
IF you have more bedrooms in your home than people living there, you could save as much as £500 a year by installing a water meter.
The average saving is £200, and companies will usually give you two years to switch back, according to the Consumer Council for Water (CWC).
Read More on Energy Bills
See if you could save with a meter by inputting your details online at ccwater.org.uk/watermetercalculator.
Once on a meter, be careful of your usage or bills could rise.
USE less water and you won’t just reduce your metered-water bill, but your energy costs too.
About a fifth of a typical heating bill for a gas-heated home comes from water used for showers, baths and the hot water tap, says Water UK.
Turn the tap off while you wash as leaving it running will add £25 to your annual bill. Consumer group Which? reckons the most efficient dishwashers use almost ten times less water as washing up by hand.
USING your washing machine only for full-load cycles cuts down the gallons of water you use.
One fewer washing cycle per week saves £7 a year on water and energy costs, while washing at 20C instead of 40C will save £24 more if you do four loads a week, says Which?.
Nigel Wheeler, boss of water filter firm Aquaphor, says: “Save on water and electricity by skipping the hot water washing cycle. Cold water cleans clothes just as well.”
SWAPPING a daily bath for a shower could save you £70 a year in water and energy bills, according to Energyhelpline.
Keep your shower time down for further savings.
CCW’s Andy White says: “A family of four could save as much as £700 a year on water and energy by cutting their shower time to five minutes.”
Aquaphor’s Mr Wheeler adds: “When brushing your teeth or shaving, don’t let the tap run. Use a basin or a glass of water instead.”
“INSTEAD of using a pressurised hose to wash your car, use a bucket of water and sponge instead,” says Mr Wheeler.
“A barrel in your garden can be a great help as it can harvest rainwater from gutters, which can be used to water flowers or grass. Regularly check hoses, connectors and taps for leaks too.
“If you have a dog, wash it outside so that the lawn can get a watering at the same time.”
GET in touch with your water supplier and check what support is available.
The WaterSure scheme helps people on benefits with school-age children as well as those who use a lot of water for medical reasons.
Some water suppliers offer social tariffs, which cap the cost of water, while others have special schemes.
Severn Trent, for instance, offers reductions on bills of up to 90 per cent to households with an income below £16,480.
MANY water companies will give you free water-saving devices that could help to cut your bills.
These might include a shower timer, a low-flow shower head or a kind of balloon that goes in your toilet cistern to displace the water and reduce the amount you use when you flush. It can save one to two litres per flush.
Contact your own region’s supplier for more information or check out savewatersavemoney.co.uk.
KAREN Hudson halved her water bills simply by getting a smart meter installed.
Mum-of-five Karen, 56, now lives with husband Adam after the kids grew up and left home.
Karen cannot work because she has multiple sclerosis, while Adam works in manufacturing.
They were paying £43 a month for water at their four-bedroom home in South Gloucestershire but this fell to £24.50 after they got the meter fitted by Bristol Water in February 2019.
That adds up to £294 a year instead of £516.
Karen says: “I was shocked by how much I saved.
“With energy costs going up, the saving we’re making on water bills comes in handy. I’m now not panicking every time we’re turning the taps on.
“We’re not on a huge amount of money so have to be quite frugal – any saving is an advantage.”
TWO million households on low incomes face “waiting weeks” for the crucial £150 council tax rebate.
The extra help for hard-up homeowners as energy bills rocket was announced by the Government last month.
It is due to start hitting bank accounts of eligible bill-payers this month.
Around four in five homes in England will start getting the discount within days, and most people are eligible if they live in a home in council tax bands A to D.
However, households that pay no council tax, because they get their bill discounted under existing schemes, face waiting weeks extra to get the one-off payment, say local government insiders.
Bill-payers have been urged to set up direct debits to pay their council tax to make sure they get the payment quicker.
But those whose discount means they pay no council tax at all cannot do this.
Local councils will be contacting residents who do not have direct debits set up.
The authorities want residents to get bank details to them so payments can be made – but this process will cause a backlog in payments.
For instance, around 40,000 households in Wiltshire will be sent letters this month inviting them to submit their bank details to get the payment.
And in Newham and Coventry, residents will have to complete an application form to claim the money.
Councillor Shaun Davies, from the Local Government Association, said: “Having a direct debit set up will mean councils can automatically pay the £150 energy rebate straight into your bank account.
“You can still get the money if you don’t have a direct debit set up. But it could take longer as your council will have to contact you and then you’ll have to make a claim.”
It’s worth keeping an eye out for a letter from your council if you are eligible for the £150 and don’t pay council tax due to discounts.
How you apply will depend on where you live, as each council will have a different process.
Council tax support is available through town halls for those on low incomes and claiming benefits, including pension credit.
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How much discount people get depends on their circumstances and in some cases it can reduce the bill by 100 per cent.
In Bristol, for example, more than 25,000 residents pay no council tax due to their reduction, while 10,000 people in Manchester, Wiltshire, Ealing and Coventry also get the full discount.
