The Mayor's draft water strategy - london.gov.uk - Greater London ...

88 The Mayor’s draft water strategy
fairness of current and alternative methods
of charging
• considering social, economic and
environmental concerns
• making recommendations on any actions
that should be taken to ensure that
England and Wales has a sustainable and
fair system of charging in place. This could
include changes to current legislation and
guidance.
An interim report, published in June
2009 105 , says that, ‘We have concluded that
charging by use of water meets more of the
fairness principles than any other method of
charging’.
6.23 However, there are various arguments
against metering. One argument is that there
are cheaper ways of conserving water. For
example, low-flush toilets reduce total water
consumption by nearly as much as metering,
but low-flush toilets cost less than metering
does. Opponents of metering also argue that
most of the cost in providing water does not
depend on the quantity of water used, so
charging on the basis of use is irrelevant. Yet
the quantity of water used has an impact on
cost; the social costs of additional marginal
use are often high. Likewise not charging for
use means that there is no incentive for less
wasteful use.
6.24 An unmeasured water bill has two
components: a standing charge (the same
for each household) and an additional
charge based on the rateable values of the
house or flat. Some water companies make
the standing charge the largest part of the
bill, while others make the rateable value
the main part. Domestic water consumers
also pay for the three sewerage services –
highway drainage, surface water drainage
(run-off from a property), and sewage
collection. The surface drainage charge
to households is rebated where it can be
shown that the rainwater pipes are not
connected to the public sewer. Highway
drainage is usually levied as a flat fee as it
bears no relation to the other services and is
unrelated to household size or consumption
of services. It is a service to the general
public rather than to individual households.
The Walker Review is seeking views on
basis on which costs can be allocated fairly
between the different sewer services.
6.25 Since 2000, households have had the right
to the free installation of a meter on request.
Water companies can also meter customer
on change of occupancy. In areas of water
stress, companies have powers to compulsory
meter (as happened with Folkestone and
Dover Water Services in March 2006 106 ) but
this process is complex. In August 2007 Defra
announced that water companies in areas of
serious water stress (see paragraph 2.6) would
be able to seek compulsory water metering
as part of their 25-year Water Resource
Management Plans 107 .
6.26 Whilst there is evidence to support the
view that water metering leads to a
reduction in water consumption, there is
also concern that water metering could
impose an additional financial burden on
some low-income households. Fuel poverty