Amazing Water Consumption

[buzzlightyear]

Current property has a house and a self-contained unit at the rear of the block. In the house, there is a family of 5 (3 young girls) and in the SCU, an early 20's female. The property isn't separately metered, so I obviously pay for water charges as well.

Over the past year, I had realised that the total water bill were quite high but never really looked into it in much more detail, until yesterday. I went through the last four bills, and tracked water consumption, which has averaged at ~1000 litres per day It has varied from 900 to 1200. That equates to around $250 water usage per quarter. And no, they don't water the garden either.

Initially I thought it was a leak, but given the variability in the use, I suspect it is tenants usage. However I will be doing a small check with the usage, by checking the water meter late in the evening and then first thing in the morning. If the meter hasn't moved, then there is probably no leak.

Assuming no leak, I have a quote to put in a meter at the rear of the property, which is around $800, so payback is less than 12 months. So that seems like a goer.

My questions however are this

* for those with families what do you typically use in water over a billing cycle?
* Given the focus on water, drought conditions, I cannot understand why SE Water wouldn't have contacted the owner (ie me) about excess water consumption. What happened to the 155 lites per day target recently started by the Vic Government ?

 

[willfong]

It's 155 litre per person per day. Given there is a total of six tenants, they are just a little bit over the 930 litres. Not as bad as you think.

 

[wylie]

When Brisbane was aiming for 140 litres a day per person we were using a little over 800 and got a "please explain" letter and survey. We haven't watered our garden for about nine years and I am known as the "shower nazi" so the only explanation was the (then) 19 year old son with his own bathroom, having lovely loooooong showers after we are all in bed.

I have tried to show him how he is sabotaging the rest of our family by his excessive water use.

So I agree with Willfong that your water usage for six people is not really excessive (certainly compared to how we as a nation have wasted water for decades) but I would be spending the money so that they can pay it themselves. We have just signed two new leases with tenants now paying for their own water.

The thing that annoys me is that getting the "please explain" letter because we went over 800 litres a day doesn't take into consideration that the neighbour who was living on his own could use 799 litres a day and doesn't have to "please explain" to anybody.

Put the meter in and help your tenants realise that water really is not FREE.

 

[nhb74]

WoW!!.. I just went through the same thing. We had 3 Indians living in our IP in Brisbane and the water usage was also around 1000 litres per day!!! We had the place checked for leaks etc.. but everything came back good.
Even had a new toilet installed and new taps and shower head. Just couldn't figure it out as they said they don't use much water. After another inspection, we found out that they must have had all their friends living in the house too as there were about 6 beds setup all over the place.
Got really sick of it and didn't renew their lease. They were always cool though always paid rent and paid for the excess water usage. With new tenants now the usage has come down to about 150 litres a day for two people!
You gotta be careful as we nearly got fined by the council and had to prove that the excessive water usage was not our fault??!!

 

[boomtown]

I have trouble seeing how it could be your fault if you don't reside there.

 

[Perp]

When Brisbane was aiming for 140 litres a day per person we were using a little over 800 and got a "please explain" letter and survey.

Man, that's SOME long shower your son must have been having! We are a household of 8 and average just under 600 per day, ie about 75L per person. We have a swimming pool, 4 toilets, etc, so I've often wondered how on Earth people find the 140L target a challenge. Perhaps they also have teenagers...

 

[wylie]

Exactly!! I have woken up a couple of times hearing the gas start up and laying in bed FUMING but wanting to see how long he took. One shower was 22 minutes and another time 20 minutes. The thing that grates is that I am trying to save the world for HIM. He couldn't give a toss .

I have on a couple of occasions flounced outside and turned the power off to the instant gas. That didn't go down too well, but too bad.

I sometimes think about taking off his shower head and making him come upstairs and shower, but the tanty he would throw would just not be worth it. Pick your battles etc.....

I have made a point of mention it lightly in front of his friends to see if their disapproval of such waste makes him re-think, but perhaps they all think alike .

Instead, four of us try our best and he just sails along doing what he wants. I sometimes think I should tell him he must shower earlier so we can keep an eye on his usage, but I also think the stress this sort of butting heads would cause is just not worth it.

He is 20 and thinks the world is some sort of smorgasboard for him to pick what he wants from. Arrogant so and so in many respects, but a nice boy mostly.

 

[willfong]

20? Forget about turning power off or taking off the shower head. It's time to throw him out of the house .

 

[nhb74]

20? Forget about turning power off or taking off the shower head. It's time to throw him out of the house .

haha my thoughts exactly

 

[LynnH]

Buzz

Must admit to reading this with a sense of deja vu .....

We have three daughters - all of whom have long hair - and when they were living at home, the water useage was absolutely horrendous! Our youngest left home early last year (now only hubby & I at home) ... and our water useage halved!!

And, wylie .... 22 minutes! An amateur performance! Our middle daughter used to take 40 minutes minimum - and no amount of banging on the wall and yelling at her to get out of the shower would have any effect - in fact, I suspect it prolonged the shower slightly. And with solar HW, there's no gas to switch off, unfortunately.

Buzz, you said there were 3 young girls in the house ..... unfortunately, I have bad news for you: as they turn into teenagers, it's only going to get worse!!!

Maybe you need to find other tenants ..... ???

Cheers
Lynn

 

[The Y-man]

I am trying to save the world for HIM. He couldn't give a toss .

Ah, don't bother trying..... why not make his dreams coem true?
http://www.bigsafety.com.au/category9_1.htm?gclid=CK_X4JK94pgCFRIcawodsHGJcw

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[fokas]

Ok...stupid back to basics question. Why are you paying for water?
Why aren't the tenants paying for it?

 

[buzzlightyear]

Ok...stupid back to basics question. Why are you paying for water?
Why aren't the tenants paying for it?

2 properties on the block but not separately metered - at the moment anyway.

 

[fokas]

2 properties on the block but not separately metered - at the moment anyway.

I still don't get it...Surely you can charge them regardless? Add a levy?

 

[buzzlightyear]

I still don't get it...Surely you can charge them regardless? Add a levy?

In Victoria, where there are multiple dwellings on the same property, for the tenant to be liable for water usage, each property needs to be separately metered. The relevant water authority can then charge the water direct to the tenant.

Not sure of the rules in NSW, maybe they are different. You can't charge a water levy in Vic. Of course you can up the rent, which I have, but that is just keeping the rental at around market value, not recovering the excess water usage.

 

[boods99]

Buzz

Must admit to reading this with a sense of deja vu .....

We have three daughters - all of whom have long hair - and when they were living at home, the water useage was absolutely horrendous! Our youngest left home early last year (now only hubby & I at home) ... and our water useage halved!!

And, wylie .... 22 minutes! An amateur performance! Our middle daughter used to take 40 minutes minimum - and no amount of banging on the wall and yelling at her to get out of the shower would have any effect - in fact, I suspect it prolonged the shower slightly. And with solar HW, there's no gas to switch off, unfortunately.

...you can go outside and turn the main water tap off...mid shower...that usually works!!!

 

[Perp]

I still don't get it...Surely you can charge them regardless? Add a levy?

In Victoria, where there are multiple dwellings on the same property, for the tenant to be liable for water usage, each property needs to be separately metered.

Same in QLD; separate meters are required, and even then you have to have a certain number of water-saving initiatives implemented by the landlord (such as dual-flush toilets, water-efficient shower heads, etc) before you can pass on excess water charges to the tenant.

 

[wylie]

And it has only been allowed in Queensland for new leases signed after 1 April 2008 and if you have all the water saving devices as Tracey said.

 

[csc]

ive had to resort to turning off the hot water system many times to get my three girls out of the shower in the morning..........works especially well in winter...when i hear the screams i know my message is getting through and all is good for a week or so............

only made a mistake once! my wife was in the shower, i didnt know..i paid dearly for that one with a jug of ice water the next day while i was shampooing my hair...major head spin with eyes closed!!!

pays not to mess with females habits too much!

cheers!

 

[buzzlightyear]

Well this is the guide from SE Water about what is typical water usage, depending on the number of occupants & garden size.