water rates

[openspaceman]

2 minutes ago, Will C said:

I looked into it a while ago. I believe no license is needed for a domestic bore hole unless your in a sssi etc but don’t quote me.

If I remember right, Once you do anything commercial you need an extraction license.

The well has been there since 1862, I don't know why it stopped being used. The rule used to be  you could draw up to 20M3 a day without an abstraction licence, I think the well would struggle to refill if I took more than 1m3 a day.

 

I was more worried about the health aspect.

[Khriss]

23 hours ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

Would anyone be willing to say what sort of money they are paying per year for water rates?  Trying to get a feel for what it might be.

 

I'm £282 for period 1 Apr 21 - 31 Mar 22 (that's with some sort of magical added government rebate of £50 - not sure how that shit works?  Government tax me then give me my money back as a rebate in the water bill?  And also something called South West water Water Share - if SWW 'outperform' their business prediction - I get £20 off my bill - so again, SWW take MY money for their business then if they take more than they needed they give me some scraps back.)

 

The bill appears to tell me that I am charged according to the rateable value set by the LA and that since 1990 it has not been possible to seek to change a rateable value.  It doesn't tell me what my rateable value is though - like, where am I on the scale and what additions deletions might have been applied when the rateable value was set.

 

I've just set up an online account with South West Water to try and find answer to my questions (do I have a rebate / reduction for no foul mains) but it's about as much use a tits on a flat fish.  I'll probably have to phone Mumbai for a couple of hours tomorrow...

 

Detached, 4 bed, with septic tank (old style soak away) and no mains sewer connection.  Rainwater goes to soak-away or to ground.  

 

What are people paying if on a meter?  

 

Think ' outperforming business prediction'  means blasting raw sewage out when no ones looking  😆 K

Edited February 17, 2022 by Khriss
... No idea wot i pay, there is a meter somewhere and money must get there as tap still works...

[Macpherson]

11 minutes ago, openspaceman said:

I was more worried about the health aspect.

I know a few folk that take their water from alternative sources and  test with kits like this, and filter with reverse osmosis, not too expensive for small quantities.

 

Watersafe Well Water Test Kit - WATERSAFE UK WATER TEST KITS

WATERSAFETESTKITS.CO.UK

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Tests for 10 harmful contaminants in water including Bacteria, Copper, Iron, Lead, Pesticides, Nitrates, Nitrites, Chlorine, pH...

 

[eggsarascal]

5 minutes ago, Khriss said:

Think ' outperforming business prediction'  means blasting raw sewage out when no ones looking  😆 K

In the short term I can't see it getting any better, once the sewage works is maxed out it's got to go to watercourses or it's in people's gardens, or even worse, indoors.

 

They were meant to be emergency overflows in storm conditions where the foul was so diluted by the time it gets to the watercourse it doesn't have as big an impact. Now they are the norm.

[openspaceman]

59 minutes ago, Macpherson said:

I know a few folk that take their water from alternative sources and  test with kits like this, and filter with reverse osmosis, not too expensive for small quantities.

 

Watersafe Well Water Test Kit - WATERSAFE UK WATER TEST KITS

WATERSAFETESTKITS.CO.UK

---

Tests for 10 harmful contaminants in water including Bacteria, Copper, Iron, Lead, Pesticides, Nitrates, Nitrites, Chlorine, pH...

 

I've ordered a kit just to see if it has any nasties in it, I would never use it other than for flushing  which probably only requires 40 or 50 litres a day but it becomes interesting if the washing machine and bathroom taps could use it.

[eggsarascal]

20 minutes ago, openspaceman said:

I've ordered a kit just to see if it has any nasties in it, I would never use it other than for flushing  which probably only requires 40 or 50 litres a day but it becomes interesting if the washing machine and bathroom taps could use it.

All the bumph and pictures tells you harvested water will work in washing machines. Give it a whirl, let us know how you get on.

[Macpherson]

1 hour ago, openspaceman said:

I've ordered a kit just to see if it has any nasties in it, I would never use it other than for flushing  which probably only requires 40 or 50 litres a day but it becomes interesting if the washing machine and bathroom taps could use it.

 

There's quite a few affordable ro filters out there that claim to produce pure drinking water, I don't know how much they cost to maintain though.

[openspaceman]

43 minutes ago, Macpherson said:

 

There's quite a few affordable ro filters out there that claim to produce pure drinking water, I don't know how much they cost to maintain though.

As I said I wouldn't go that far, however it will be interesting to see how a bill with a water meter is made up of standing charge and metered water. I probably should have done it 25 years ago when the kids left home.

[Macpherson]

22 hours ago, openspaceman said:

Not read the link but chances are the water comes from a chalk aquifer and has calcium bicarbonate in it.

The water in both my locations comes from lochs fed by streams.

 

Purely as a point of interest and some years ago as I said, having discovered the 6 chemical compounds added to the drinking water I decided to buy a water distiller, 3.5litre and cheap at about £60.

 

On it's first use I distilled Glasgow tap water and tbo I was fairly surprised by the residue that was left in the pot when it switched itself off, from only 3.5 litres there was a thin layer of brown oily looking sludge and a few dark metallic in appearance hard crystals of around a bit less than 1/2 mm and no calcium... so I got the answer to the deposits on the stainless drainer.

 

On doing the same with bottled and natural spring water all I get is varying amounts of pure white dissolved mineral salts, probably calcium carbonate or similar as you said.

 

While the residue from the tap water looked unpleasant and is probably just symptomatic of a large piping system and may be harmless, but I know I don't want to be micro-dosed on a daily basis with the varying chemicals added to water by a water authority who are reluctant to say what they do.

 

I hope the water in your well turns out to be nice and clean, cheers.

 

[openspaceman]

On 17/02/2022 at 09:20, openspaceman said:

Actually thanks to @Craig Johnson I checked my direct debits today; it looks like I pay £43/month for 10 months of the year. Now that means it costs me more than my electricity of gas. As I heat with wood and produce my own electricity  it looks like it makes sense to use my own water.

 

It's a small house, no water meter, discharge surface water to soakaway but on mains drainage.

 

The interesting thing is if I have a meter fitted and use well water for toilet flushing my drainage charge will go down too.

 

I'm not sure whether it would be worth filtering the well water and using it for domestic hot water and showers.

Right a follow up; as I said my combined water and sewerage rate is £430 per year.

 

If I go for a meter that would mean I could use 400 tonnes a year before I break even,

 

Using an online calculator with a generous weekly 10 baths, 8 flushes, 5 dishwashes and 5 washing machine plus leaving a hose running for 5 hours a year that comes to 102m3 of water

 

My water use  charge would be

£107.12

Water standing charge£28.20

 

Sewerage variable charge£92.32

Sewerage standing charge£65.18

 

Surface water drainage rebate£-26.66

So £266 instead of £430 and if I use well water it could be much less but less said about that the better so the sewerage undertaking don't get wind of the plan.

 

So worth doing but I need to see about running a plastic pipe from the stopcock 30 metres into the kitchen, 750mm deep and it must go under the two foul sewers I think. I suspect the water company will wish to inspect the installation before they connect it to the meter.