Thursday, March 02, 2006

Water water everywhere... not

The British media are wittering about water meters at the moment. It seems that water scarcity is such in the south east that metering is considered essential to preserve supplies. The worry is that low income big families who pay little for water at the moment will suffer the biggest increases.

This is something of a no-brainer for me. France has metered water and has done for years. I've been here 15 yrs and have always paid for what I consume. Water is like any other utility. If you use it, you pay for it. Why should a little old lady pay the same for her water as a family of 6?

The British have been spoilt by the seemingly unlimited, cheap water supplies which can be squandered on lush green lawns, weekly car washes, running taps and daily baths. Well, times change, water supplies change and so habits have to change too.

The water companies must offset the cost of unpopularity with their imposition of meters by fixing the leaking pipes. It's a publicity trade-off. Bad for meters, good for fixing the leaks. That should bring us to point zero and a lot more care with water usage.

All round a good thing.

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