Adverts to "ditch the hose and use a watering can" are not enough
Greens say Cambridge Water must install water meters more quickly in order to tackle the long-term crisis.
Local residents who want to do their bit are frustrated at the long waiting times for meters.
And the Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire Green Party says tackling this issue would have a much bigger impact than the water company paying for adverts urging consumers to use their garden hoses less over the summer.
Demand for water in Cambridge remains far too high for the amount available in the region, which is officially classified by the Environment Agency as “seriously water-stressed”.
Sarah Nicmanis, the Green Party’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Cambridge, said: “There are around 30,000 homes still unmetered in the Cambridge Water area - about one in five of their household customers.
“It’s very frustrating to see such slow progress towards universal metering, and an apparent inability to install meters promptly for those customers who have asked for one.”
Cambridge Water’s draft plan proposes to install 4,200 smart meters per year over 10 years, aiming for universal coverage of smart meters by 2035.
But their own figures show that only 650 meters were installed in the 12 months between October 2021 and September 2022, and no further data seems to have been published.
The company acknowledges delays due to COVID-19, but say that a catch-up plan is being developed. Yet other water companies are installing smart meters much faster and neighbours Anglian Water have set a target of 2030.
Cambridge Water’s website states, “those customers with smart meters acknowledged that they had changed their behaviours to reduce their usage and save money”.
The company also cites that Ofwat, the water regulator, estimates that households with a meter use 10% less water on average than those without.
Cambridge Water also claim on their website that it is a “simple” process to have a meter fitted and most will be installed within 90 days of the customer’s application.
But that is not the experience of Green Party member Richard Potter, of Cherry Hinton.
Cambridge Water did an initial survey back in February, but after five follow-up phone calls the water company has still not provided a date for installation.
Mr Potter said: “1,200 houses are being built in North Cherry Hinton, and 12,000 are planned for Marshalls Airport land.
“In 2019 Cambridge had the highest ever UK temperature, and the top temperature was even higher in 2022.
“The threat to our water supply is escalating - we need to change how we live now”.
Some Cambridge residents are concerned about the roll-out of smart water meters, fearing that (as has happened with energy meters) vulnerable customers may be switched to expensive pre-payment tariffs.
However, water metering charges and tariffs do not work in that way: there is one single tariff for most households while appropriate protection for customers in vulnerable circumstances is available. The ‘WaterSure’ tariff applies to customers on income-related benefits and either with medical conditions that involve using large volumes of water, or who have three or more dependent children living with them: this caps bills at the average household bill for their area.
Cambridge Water customers who manage to get a new meter installed can have it removed after two years if they are not happy with the result.
