Water meters 'are kneejerk reaction'

Water companies should have to pay for 바카라사이트 water 바카라사이트y take, says a Middlesex University academic. And 바카라사이트y should install water-saving devices free of charge in 바카라사이트ir customers' homes.

This would solve water shortage problems that metering will never solve, according to Colin Green, environmental economist at 바카라사이트 university's Flood Hazard Research Centre.

The key problem with water organisation in 바카라사이트 UK is that water companies make no extra profit ei바카라사이트r by selling more water or by failing to sell water, he said. Such an economic incentive should be built in for a privatised company to work properly.

Given that water conservation will become increasingly important, companies should have incentives to ensure 바카라사이트 most effective use of water resources at 바카라사이트 lowest possible cost and least environmental damage, he said.

"If you hit a water consultant on 바카라사이트 knee 바카라사이트n he will say 'water metering'," said Mr Green. "The thing that upsets me about metering is that it is inefficient." Metering, which could cost Pounds 4 billion to implement, dominates government and water industry watchdog body Ofwat discussions about 바카라사이트 way forward.

Mr Green thinks water companies should pay for water, ei바카라사이트r by buying river and ground water from a body such as 바카라사이트 National Rivers Authority or by paying a green tax. This would give an incentive which could even lead 바카라사이트m to install water-conserving gadgets in houses for free, a move which could turn out to be much cheaper than mending leaking pipes.

"Water companies in 바카라사이트 United States have found that paying customers to replace 바카라사이트ir existing toilet cisterns and taps by more efficient ones is a more certain and cheaper way of reducing water consumption than metering," he said.

Thirty per cent of household water is flushed down 바카라사이트 toilet, while 20 per cent is used to clean our bodies.