Lots of suggestions and some criticisms. To be clear - our current water bill payment has been suspended with the full agreement of ST. We have not refused to pay. We have, with their full agreement and support, deferred payment until investigations are completed. As far as closer monitoring of our water usage goes this is not something ST have asked for or suggested. The value of any such readings is limited as I see it as it will not affect recorded consumption and amounts merely to hearsay from a legal perspective. So I record usage of a, b, c, d etc amounts each hour. What exactly does that prove? Clearly the recorded amounts will add up to around 700L per day, as that is what the meter shows we are using. But we definitely are not using in the order of twice as much water as our neighbours. Even ST admit that it is an unusually high consumption.
I will speak with them in a couple of days. I will act on any of their instructions regarding monitoring.
It might show that at odd times there’s a reading with nothing turned on, pointing to an intermittent leak or an unknown branch going elsewhere - those might seem very unlikely but so is your meter reading! Or it could show up if one particular usage uses such an excess that it may have a leak when in use, etc. what is there to lose doing it, other than a little bit of time?
There is clearly no point in us offering sensible advice as it is being repeatedly ignored or rejected as not valid / useful
I would have thought that as the OP is convinced that he is not consuming the volume of water which the meter is reading, he would be happy to monitor meter readings frequently and low water using activity for a couple of days to represent ‘average’ water use activity ?
In this case it looks like you have the burden of proof. The utility has a meter and a reading so they have their proof. You have to prove it’s wrong. They don’t have to prove it’s correct (until after you submit reasonable proof that contradicts theirs).
I would definitely ask a plumber to install a second meter of your choosing on the line after the utility’s meter but before the water pipe does any branching.
A secondary meter reading is probably the only thing that would assist you in a dispute. But it might also show the same reading. In which case I might start looking at the new kitchen and bathroom you had fitted and whether something like replacing low flow taps and shower heads with jets is the cause. Low flow taps and heads cut water usage but a huge amount.
Richard if you see this could you please close this thread. I feel it is becoming extremely repetitive with the same comments/suggestions/explanations appearing time and again. Thanks to all who have contributed but time to move on.
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