A Solution Solution.

Never had one before with a house;

A water meter.

I am a bit nervous about it to be honest.

Not sure what to expect in terms of the first demand for monies from Yorkshire Water and so have introduced a regime of water austerity measures to try to establish what useage represents, say the basic unit of £1.

I have of course heard both good and bad things about a metered supply.

Households with low occupancy appear to be at an advantage on a meter when compared to the levy of a standing order under the old water rates. Large family units have found, in direct contrast, a big hike in costs for this particular utility, but then again what's new in terms of outgoings for any of the utilities today.

My introduction to this new experience was on my hands and knees out on the pedestrian pavement on the day of the handover of the house from its former owners. In some sort of informal ceremony I was charged with the easing up of the stiff hinged metal hatch , prising out of the polystyrene dust cover and brushing aside the accumulated cobwebs and insect bodies in order to take the readings which would form the opening balance under our occupancy.

From thereon in, and every time a tap was turned or a pump in water bearing appliance switched on, I swear that I could hear a whirring away of the dials on the meter even though this was a practical impossibilty at such a distance and from my position behind the double glazing.

We had got into a bit of a deficit on power bills at the old, solid walled and draughty house and I did not want to have the same worries and anxieties that a drop into so called "fuel poverty" had caused at that time.

The period up until receipt of the first bill for water would therefore be on a trial and error basis.

Pipework connections in the new place for the dishwasher that we had lugged across the city boundary with us were found to be faulty. Perhaps a blessing in disguise given the significant volumes of water that cascade through dirty crockery from this labour saving type of appliance. Hand washing of plates, cups and cutlery does give a very real perception of how much water is being used but again I have no basis of information on which to guage the cost of a sink full of soapy water.

In the pursuit of water saving a wonderful invention has taken pride of place in the kitchen.

It is a bright red, rather peanut shaped piece of equipment known as a single cup water boiler. Rather than mess around with a kettle and potentially over fill or have to top up and re-heat the Morphy Richards branded thing can be accurately loaded up with the contents of the cup to be used and within 30 seconds a fierce geyser of boiling hot water is pumped out with a satisfying slurp.

That just really leaves for monitoring the daily requirements for personal washing and flushing of the loo.

In times of national drought and shortages there are regular initiatives to conserve water in the home. I remember from my childhood the insertion into the toilet cistern of an inflatable bag or other measures provided by the water companybut nothing could cut down water consumption as effectively as a good old brick. Most of the latest designs of WC's have a dual flushing button system for short or long functions but our inherited toilet does not.

Again, I hesitate to place an estimate on cost per flush but "pay-to-poo" makes me determined to get value for money by a prolonged occupancy in the lavatory with a book, magazine or the leftover sunday papers.

As for washing and bathing, well, me and the missus share the bath water, not at the same time in slushy romantic style with fragrant candles and a glass of wine, but on a purely functional basis. It is a case of a quick splash one after the other, before we both head off for work in the morning.

Life governed by a metered water supply will certainly be interesting and have its challenges after so many years of wastefulness, complacency and downright extravagance in the pursuit of cleanliness and hygiene.

The local swimming pool may soon notice a new phenomena of a ring of soapy scum around the ceramic tiling in the shallow end when I start my winter programme of regular water based activity. At £3.25 per swim session payable to the City Council Leisure Services I still think that I should be quids in on keeping my home water costs at a manageable level. That's what I call a good solution.