AS we learn that those of us who have elected not to have a water meter are to be heavily penalised by entirely disproportionate increases, perhaps somebody would answer me this.
When we use electricity gas or oil we are consuming an expensive fossil fuel which cannot be replaced.
It is totally disingenuous to assert that water falls in to the same category. We receive a supply of water in our houses which we use for various purposes and then we return exactly the same amount (albeit somewhat soiled) by either the main drainage system or we purify the water by means of a private drainage system.
What we pay for is the storage distribution and purification (before and after use) of our water. The cost of this can only be slightly affected by the amount we use.
The use of water meters has necessitated the installation of thousand of expensive meters and an army of readers running around in vehicles which we all must pay for and as soon as the last poor souls have been hounded in to having a meter then of course the price of metered water will have to rise to ensure the water companies profits are sustained and to cover the increased collection costs of meters over rates.
The poor and elderly are driven to flush their toilets with buckets of water.
For most of the year our reservoirs are overflowing with excess water. In the past when the have been times of drought it has been perfectly possible to restrict use without the need for meters
People who live in rural areas are terrified of water leaks between their house and their meters which can go undetected, create huge bills and can be horrendously expensive to repair. There have I believe been cases of bankruptcy as a result.
Nobody should waste water but meters are a thoroughly nasty way of increasing revenue which strike fear in to the less well off consumer.
At a time when public spending is out of control and we in the South West have the highest water bills in the country we should stop this madness now!
Richard Leonard
Menfreya, Thorndon Cross, Okehampton.