Water Usage ?

JG65TE · 02-11-2011, 07:43 PM

Ok, Got my water bill. It reckons I use 312 litres per day............

Lets set the scene, I live alone, Dont water the gardens, dont mind a 10 minute shower now and then with a water saver head of course. I use the washing machine maybe twice a week. I just cant see it really. That would mean an average house full would use about 1000 litres a day. Are they actually reading my meter or taking a guess like I have heard of ?

I would like to see other peoples water usage if anyone doesnt mind ?

buggo · 02-11-2011, 07:50 PM

Wow that sounds like quite a lot considering.
You don't have a leak in the pipes? Check to see if your metres turning with everything off. If it's not moving, I'd give them a ring and ask whats going on.

**Raptor** · 02-11-2011, 08:27 PM

4 people household.

Mum & Dad (me) plus a teenage son & daughter.

Most of us will shower morning and night most days. I have a water tank for washing cars, watering gardens and topping up the pool.

All my bills hovers from low-to-mid 400 to mid 500 l/day avg.

irish2 · 02-11-2011, 09:22 PM

2 people household. No tanks. average 202 l/day for last billing period. The previous one was 196 l/day.

The water supplier changed my meter. I assume they thought it was faulty, but the readings remain pretty much the same.

CJR09 · 02-11-2011, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irish2

2 people household. No tanks. average 202 l/day for last billing period. The previous one was 196 l/day.

The water supplier changed my meter. I assume they thought it was faulty, but the readings remain pretty much the same.

LOL - they prob thought you were'nt using enough!!

I would be guessing 100-130L per person per day would be a conservative average

Rambunctious · 02-11-2011, 09:58 PM

As buggo said, check the meter is not turning while no water is being used, also:-
Check hot water overflow pipes.
Check toilet is not overflowing or leaking into the bowl.
Check all taps especially outdoor for drips/leaks.
Do your checking first up in the morning because the pressure rises during the night.

Yellow_Festiva · 02-11-2011, 10:11 PM

There used to be a little picture on the back of my water bill about average / typical consumption per person per day.

I think it was 150l for the first person, then 100L for each person afterwards.

So 1 pax=150L, 2 = 250L, 3 = 350L and 4 = 450L. Judging by what has been said already that sounds pretty right give or take a bit.

Seems you have an issue somewhere JG65TE?? Is your metre easy to get to? I have heard that often an 'educated' guess is used if you have a nasty dog or a gate blocking access.

Does your toilet run all the time? Put some dye / colour in the cistern and see if it ends up in the bowl after a while on its own.

fmc351 · 02-11-2011, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

There used to be a little picture on the back of my water bill about average / typical consumption per person per day.

I think it was 150l for the first person, then 100L for each person afterwards.

So 1 pax=150L, 2 = 250L, 3 = 350L and 4 = 450L. Judging by what has been said already that sounds pretty right give or take a bit.

Seems you have an issue somewhere JG65TE?? Is your metre easy to get to? I have heard that often an 'educated' guess is used if you have a nasty dog or a gate blocking access.

Does your toilet run all the time? Put some dye / colour in the cistern and see if it ends up in the bowl after a while on its own.

At 312l/day, Im thinking he wouldnt need dye, it should be clearly visible if the dunny is the only culprit.

Dont those water saver roses use maybe 9l/min??? Thats one long shower.

xisled · 03-11-2011, 12:41 AM

Do a self meter read. Your opening and closing read should be on the bill. They are allowed to do estimated reads if they can not get access. By law they only need to do 1 actual reading a year (this is the same with power and gas). Another thing you can do is get your pipes checked to make sure you do not have a leak. If you own the property this may be covered under your home building insurance policy under leak detection. If you rent speak with landlord to get a plumber in.

As people have said, turn all taps off and check to see if meter is still running.

Dodd · 03-11-2011, 08:06 AM

Do you live in a house, or a unit / apartment?

When i was living in an apartment, there was only 1 metre for the entire 8 apartments. This was read, divided by 8 and then we all had to pay our share. Sucked for the guy that traveled work 4 days a week!!

Tonz · 03-11-2011, 08:45 AM

Id start to worry mate.... water consumption like that... whats your power useage dont worry cops will already have been notified and keeping a discreet watch for hydroponic tomato growing in your spare room.

Live on the land with rain water only, then you start to save.

joolz · 03-11-2011, 08:41 AM

Check to make sure the pressure release valve on the hot water isnt leaking along with the unit it self. Reducing the water temperature will also decrease gas/electricity use. My average daily water use for 2-3 people is 130 lt per day. We do have a front loader washing machine and only use the dishwasher when completely full.

sgt_doofey · 03-11-2011, 09:37 AM

I'd be checking for a nice, green, lush area of the garden to see if there is a leak somewhere.
We average 242L per day in our household with 2 people in it. The other one is female, so she'd use more than what I would.

JG65TE · 03-11-2011, 10:41 AM

Thanks for the replies, I dont grow the green , so no water there. My leccy bill is normal apart from when I hammer the mig, that gives it a hard time. I am going out now to take a reading. I do have 1 drippy tap. Its not a serious drip but I'm gunna slap a washer in it anyway. Its a 3 br house. No one home thru the day, me at 1 (maybe 2 showers a day if i am stinky). I dont have any green spots on my grass, to many cars parked on it.. I do have a dishwasher but dont use it very often. My wash machine is a top loader that decides how much water to use automatically. I dont drink much water. I might get a 20 litre bucket and fill it and see how much my meter travels. Your doin well Joolz, I wouldnt be complaining if i used even 200 but my mrs water usage is about 400 a day and thats with 3 kids and one of their friends who never leaves. This is just me and a cat

I really think I'm getting ripped so

2085456-4 = meter@10:30 Thursday 3rd Nov 11

spebgtsprint · 03-11-2011, 11:08 AM

Hey mate, over here in WA if you have a dispute, you can organise for the Water Authority to come and recheck the meter reading/install new meter required and to check for any leaks - at a cost. If the meter is faulty, you will be reimbursed.

Might also pay to get an independant plumber to do a complete checkover of all your pipes/appliances just to double check everythings okay.....

Lightning Strike GT · 03-11-2011, 12:14 PM

It is not a friendly neighbour topping up the pool - washing their car or watering their lawn when you are not home
Best bet go to bunnings and get one of those removable tap handles - that stops them

trippytaka · 03-11-2011, 01:12 PM

2 people, 250l a day

BigBlue · 04-11-2011, 01:09 PM

1 person here as well, no garden to water and wash clothes once a week.
Shower daily about 7 minutes and the rest goes on drinking , cooking , cleaning the house , washing floors once a week etc. etc.

Latest bill tells me 54 ltrs / day over 90 days.
Last bill was 51 and the one before that was 57.

Peter.

Lotte · 04-11-2011, 03:32 PM

our last one at my old place was around 500per day from memory, with four people. 2 of which were taking up to half hour showers each day (and nope, weren't me and i'm the only innie in the household).

This sounds like they've taken an estimate based on previous readings, if you haven't been there the year, it's possible a family or couple were living there and its based on that. OR theres a mega leak somewhere in the system. by my estimates you'd be using 130 odd litres a day, so that's about 200 litres difference.

u2canb12 · 04-11-2011, 03:46 PM

Me (part time basis, 1 week in every 4) wife, Mother in law, 2 Teenage Sons (I dont know what they do in the shower but boy do they spend some tome there

), swimming pool and they reckon we average 1300 litres a day, I can see it being that high, I calculate about 800 - 900.

Lotte · 04-11-2011, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by u2canb12

Me (part time basis, 1 week in every 4) wife, Mother in law, 2 Teenage Sons (I dont know what they do in the shower but boy do they spend some tome there

),

Quite possibly the same thing as my old housemates. I like to think of it as having a morning nap....

Mickxr8 · 05-11-2011, 02:45 AM

Just checked my last bill, thought it was pretty good.
AVE 0.24KL @ $0.24 per day , 1 single male and a fifo housemate,
My house averages about 44000l per year but averages around my suburb is 174000l, .
As mentioned ^ check for obvious leaks then grab a beer and a chair one day and watch the meter ? lol

chrisvess · 07-11-2011, 08:58 PM

Just a thought don't have evaporative ac do u?

z80 · 08-11-2011, 08:05 AM

4 people 450L per day.

Tha Jack · 08-11-2011, 09:37 AM

Doc, I think its Matty's mum. The hose over the fence should be a clear giveaway.

Maybe Dougie is turning on the taps when you aint home

PHANTMXR6 · 08-11-2011, 10:24 AM

My last showed 1.26kL at a cost of $1.67 per day.

2 adults, 2 children, retic 3 times a week.

My average is almost half the town average for this period.

The thing that gets me is we live right next to an abundant river that flows all year and is fed from Lake Argyle, yet the town still uses bore water as it's supply.

z80 · 09-11-2011, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHANTMXR6

My last showed 1.26kL at a cost of $1.67 per day.

a bit of trivia for you.

Looks like you are paying about $1.32 for a thousand litres.

In Victoria we pay $1.88 per a thousand litres at the moment.

On that basis we pay 40% more for water than you....

I wouldn'y be complaining if i were you...

PHANTMXR6 · 09-11-2011, 12:42 AM

Not complaing, just quoting some figures for comparison.

Cost per kL rises every bill. They have a sliding scale and it gets dearer the more you use.

Currently I'm being billed $1.404 per kL, but the next 150kL is $1.535, then the next 50kL is $1.679 per kL, then the next 100kL is $1.709 per kL etc etc etc.

Doesn't matter how much you use, the more you use the more it costs.

What I want to know is when is there a cap, apart form the last figure on my bill which says over 1950kL is $3.094 per kL.

It annoys me that the fresh water running down the river ends up wasted in the icean when it could be used quite easily in my town. All the farmers who are on the river use river water, why can't the town?

PHANTMXR6 · 20-11-2011, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHANTMXR6

My last showed 1.26kL at a cost of $1.67 per day.

2 adults, 2 children, retic 3 times a week.

My average is almost half the town average for this period.

The thing that gets me is we live right next to an abundant river that flows all year and is fed from Lake Argyle, yet the town still uses bore water as it's supply.

Latest bill arrived on Friday.

For comparison, I averaged 1.72kL per day at $2.08 per day.

Nothing changed, just the cost of water.

Yellow_Festiva · 08-11-2011, 09:41 PM

There was something on the wireless this arvo about a big stuff up by one of the water companies that has just been 'uncovered'.

Thousands have been very over-billed apparently.

Wasn't paying attention to where, but I think it will be on one of the ACA style shows tomorrow (Wed) night.

May be worth looking into further???