Water Meters Explained: Should You Get One?

About half of UK homes have water meters. The rest pay a flat rate regardless of how much they use. We get asked about meters a lot, and the honest answer is always the same - it depends on your household. Some people save hundreds. Others end up worse off.

How They Actually Work

A meter measures the volume of water entering your property in cubic metres (one cubic metre is 1,000 litres). When you look at the meter itself, you’ll see black numbers and red numbers. The black ones are cubic metres and that’s what you get billed on. The red ones are litres - you can safely ignore those.

Your bill then works out as a standing charge (a fixed fee you pay regardless), plus a water rate multiplied by what you’ve used, plus a sewerage rate multiplied by the same figure. The sewerage bit assumes that most of the water entering your home eventually goes down the drain, which is fair enough for most people.

As a rough guide, standing charges sit between £40-£80 per year. The per-cubic-metre rates are usually £1.50-£2.50 for water and £1.50-£3.00 for sewerage, though this varies quite a bit depending on where you live. The average household uses about 140 cubic metres a year, which comes to around £560 before standing charges.

Who Tends to Save?

There’s a quick rule of thumb we like: count your bedrooms, then count the people living in your home. More bedrooms than people? A meter almost certainly saves you money. More people than bedrooms? Probably not.

Single people and couples without children tend to do well on meters. Same goes for anyone in a biggish house who doesn’t use much water, or people who are out at work all day. On the flip side, large families (four or more people), keen gardeners, and anyone who takes very long showers will probably find a meter costs more.

Getting One Installed

Your water company has to install a meter for free if you ask and it’s physically possible. You contact them, they send someone to check the property, and if everything looks feasible, they schedule the installation. The whole thing usually takes a few weeks from request to completion. The meter typically goes outside near your property boundary, though sometimes it ends up under the kitchen sink.

There’s one really important bit here: you get a 12-month trial. If the meter ends up costing you more, you can ask to switch back to unmetered billing within that first year. After 12 months, though, you lose that right and the meter becomes permanent. So keep your old bills handy for comparison during that first year.

Sometimes installation just isn’t practical - shared supply pipes, access problems, listed building restrictions. If that’s the case, your company will offer “assessed charges” instead, where they estimate what a similar metered property would pay. It’s not perfect, but it’s usually fairer than the old rateable value system.

Reading the Meter

We mentioned this above, but it bears repeating because people get confused. Black numbers are cubic metres (what matters). Red numbers are litres (ignore them for billing purposes). If your company sends estimated bills, it’s worth submitting your own readings to keep things accurate. Smart water meters are starting to pop up too, which send readings automatically - similar to smart energy meters.

Saving Money Once You’re On a Meter

Once every litre has a price tag, you start thinking differently about water. Fixing a dripping tap might save you £20-£30 a year. Cutting your shower from eight minutes to four could save £50-£100. Using full loads in the washing machine, flushing less often, sticking a water butt in the garden for the plants - it all adds up. None of these are life-changing on their own, but together they can knock a decent amount off your annual bill.

Watch Out for Leaks

This is the one thing that can really catch metered customers out. A hidden leak - maybe a pipe under the garden or a slow drip in the wall cavity - can waste thousands of litres before you notice anything. Your bill arrives and it’s double what you expected.

If you suspect a leak, try this: turn off every tap and appliance that uses water, then go and look at your meter. If it’s still ticking over, you’ve got a leak somewhere. Water companies will sometimes reduce your bill if you can prove the leak was hidden and you’ve had it fixed, so it’s worth contacting them before just paying up.

Working Out Whether a Meter Makes Sense

Before committing, we’d suggest a quick estimate. Look up your water company’s metered rates (they’re on their website), assume you’ll use about 140 cubic metres a year unless you know you’re particularly heavy or light on water, then do the maths: (water rate x usage) + (sewerage rate x usage) + standing charges. Compare that to what you’re paying now. Most water companies have online calculators that do this for you, which is easier.

Going Back to Unmetered

During the first 12 months, yes, you can switch back. After that, generally no - metered billing is permanent for that property. Worth noting that when you sell a metered property, it stays metered. The new owners can’t opt out either. And in some water-stressed regions, companies are installing meters in every home as standard, so there’s no choice at all.