Dear Editor,
There is an untold story on the water meters which needs to be told. Consumers may want to get a hold of their bills from February 4 through September 17, 2015 and compare these with the bills which followed.
The water meter is a dumb metronome which runs as long as water is flowing through the attached pipes, irrespective of the pressure applied. If one gives credence to the manufacturer, and one allows that the meters were calibrated to deliver ‘accurately,’ the water flowing through the pipes could only do so at a specified level of pressure. But if the pressure drops, and worse, drops significantly, it would take longer for the requisite volume of water to flow out of the pipes. And depending on how low the pressure drops, one could end up paying double, or nearly triple for the same volume of water. This translates into big water bills.
And this is what has been happening to us. Except for the period from February 4, 2015 through September 17, 2015, when GWI was pursuing high pressure as a company project, it was back to low pressure in designated ‘off-peak’ periods. Hence, the big bills since September 17, 2015.
Therefore, at best, it could be concluded that water meters measure duration of usage, and not necessarily the volume of water supplied. It all depends on the pressure and on the consistency of the pressure. Therefore, to add VAT to the built-in low pressure penalty is surely to induce “murderation,” ‒ the cry of the multitude outside of Parliament. The ‘conservation’ defence begs the question in this type of situation, and is clearly ultra vires. The issue is that in off-peak periods consumers have to run the meters longer, and might find themselves having to pay considerably more for their water supply than they would in peak periods.
Now Mr Gordon Moseley would understand why persons disdain to disclose the size of their water bills: the bills are too big, and people hate baseless criticism.
Yours faithfully,
P Williams