I don’t understand my water bill
They’re not always the easiest things to get your head around. If you have a look at the sample bills below, you’ll see they include explanations to help you understand your own water bill better.
Why is there more than one type of water bill?
There is more than one type of bill because it depends on how we calculate what you pay. That, in turn, depends on whether you’re metered, unmetered or ‘assessed’.
There are three types of bill and we call them simply ‘metered’, ‘unmetered’ and ‘assessed’. Take a look at the top of your bill: it’ll tell you which one you get.
I’m metered but you only take away my used water
If you’re metered, but have a different water supplier then that means we’re only providing a wastewater service to you (that’s all the dirty water that ends up in your drains and can include runoff rainwater). In this instance, we calculate what you pay based on the meter readings given to us by your water supplier.
Metered bill
Most of you have a water meter. If that includes you, then your bill type will be ‘metered’ and is calculated based on how much water you use and dirty water we take away.
Assessed bill
If you don’t have a meter, we’ll assess your bill based on the number of bedrooms in your home, or whether you are a single occupant.
Unmetered bill
A small number of you who don’t have a meter receive a bill based on the rateable value of your property. (This was set at 31 March 1990 by a branch of the government and is broadly based on how much your property would fetch in rent over the period of a year.)
I have a question about my bill that isn’t covered here
Has your bill gone up?