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Water charges

		Contents of this page
		Our charges for 2008/09
		Unmetered
		Metered
		Assessed
		WaterSure
		Our charges scheme for 2008/09
		Our charges scheme for 2007/08

Our charges for 2008/09

If you live in our area of supply, we are your water supplier. It is our responsibility and our duty to supply water to your mains tap. Anglian Water supply your sewerage services. Cambridge Water bills and collects on behalf of Anglian Water.

Generally, the occupier is responsible for payment of charges for water and sewerage services (although there are some exceptions to this). Our charges are approved annually by OFWAT. Our prices for 2008 - 2009 were approved by OFWAT. If you would like a copy of our Charges Scheme, please contact us by email us on custservice@cambridge-water.co.uk or call 01223 706050.

You have a choice about how you pay for your water and sewerage services:

UNMETERED CHARGES

These are made up of:

• a standing charge, which is the same for all households; and
• a charge based on the rateable value of your property

Every unmetered property with the same rateable value receives the same water bill, regardless of how many people who live there. So a single person pays the same amounts as a family of six.

The Inland Revenue set the rateable value of your dwelling before council tax was introduced. Legislation does not currently permit water companies to charge according to your council tax band and we are forced to rely on valuations, which were last assessed in 1973 (unless your property was built between 1973 and 1990). Properties built after 1990 must be metered as there is no rateable value available to charge against.

If you do not use much water or you live in a property with a high rateable value, installing a meter may help you pay less for your water.

METERED CHARGES  

These are made up of:

• a standing charge, which is the same for all households, and
• a charge based on the volume of water you have used.You will be billed every six months.

Sewerage charges based on the meter

Charges are made up of a standing charge and a volume charge, which is based on the meter reading at your property. The sewage volume you discharge is usually calculated to be 90% of the water supplied. The 10% allowance for activities like garden watering is appropriate for most domestic customer purposes. However, if you can demonstrate that less than 90% of your metered water supply is returned to the sewer, you may be eligible for an abatement. If you discharge less than 67.5 cubic metres of sewage a year into the sewers, you may find your bill is lower if you are on Anglian Water’s SoLow rate. With SoLow, there is a 'no standing charge' tariff.

If you have any queries about your sewerage service or would like more details about their metered tariff options, please write to Anglian Water, Customer Services, P O Box 770, Lincoln LN5 7WX, or phone them on 0800 91 91 55.

Also, you can take advantage of our water efficiency services, some of which are free:

• We can send you, free of charge, a 'hippo' device that is fitted into your lavatory cistern to reduce the water required to flush.
• For a small charge we will re-washer the dripping taps of domestic customers. (Rewasher up to 4 dripping taps at a special subsidised price of £20.00 – only £10 if you are a pensioner.)
• We provide a free leak detection service (although the responsibility for repair of leaking pipes is yours). However, under certain circumstances, we will repair the leak on customers' supply pipes free of charge. Full details of this are contained our Code of Practice on Leakage - Who is Responsible.

ASSESSED CHARGES

This option is available in restricted circumstances only (see below). If your charges are assessed, you will be billed annually, with the option to pay in instalments.

If it is, in our opinion, unreasonable or impractical to install a meter, you may elect to pay water charges based on an assessed charge.

IMPORTANT: This tariff is available in these restricted circumstances only. It is not available as an alternative to metering, if metering would, in Cambridge Water's opinion, be reasonable and practicable. This is a DETR regulation, not a Cambridge Water policy: the Government and Ofwat are committed to encouraging the efficient use of water. The most effective method of doing this is to charge according to the amount of water used and thereby encourage a more considered use of water. In addition, we all, and the majority of the general public, believe that charging for actual water used is the fairest way of charging.

If appropriate, our surveyor will assess the charge and provide you with actual prices. They will normally do this at the time they survey your property following your request to have a meter installed.

The assessed charge for water

This is defined by Cambridge Water according to the type of property: detached (including link-detached), semi-detached, and other households (including flats, terraced houses, studio flats etc).

The assessed charge for sewerage

Anglian Water assesses charges based on your individual consumption, not on the type of property. We have been asked by Anglian to ask you a short series of questions that enable us to work out what your charge will be for sewerage if you elect to be charged on the basis of an assessment. The intention is to replicate what the charge would be if you did have a meter installed - and therefore encourage more efficient use of water. Download the application form for requesting an assessed charge and email it to custservice@cambridge-water.co.uk.

WaterSure

WaterSure is a special LOW CHARGE for our customers who are suffering financial hardship and who need to use a lot of water in the home. You need to be charged by water meter in order to be eligible for WaterSure.

What you pay

Either your actual metered charges, or £114 a special fixed charge, whichever is the lower. In 2008-2009 the annual fixed charge is £114 for water services, and £209 for sewerage (or £175 if you do not have a connection to the public sewer for surface water drainage).

Eligibility

You must be on a low income (as defined below) and be eligible under one of the two following categories:

1. Medical Condition

A member of the household must have been diagnosed as suffering from, and be receiving treatment for, one of the following medical conditions AND that condition causes them to use significantly more water:

• Abdominal stomas
• Desquamation (flaky skin loss)
• Incontinence
• Kidney failure requiring home dialysis
• Weeping skin diseases (eczema, psoriasis, varicose ulceration)
• Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis

2. Large Family

You must be responsible for THREE or more dependent children under the age of 19; AND those children are all residing at the same property as the applicant.

Evidence of low income

You must be in receipt of one of the following benefits or tax credits:

• Child Tax Credit (excludes families in receipt of the family element only)
• Council Tax Benefit
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Working Tax Credit

Exceptions

If you wish to use water for discretionary purposes you are not entitled to claim WaterSure.

Discretionary purposes include using water to fill swimming pools, garden pools/ponds and use of sprinklers and other automated watering devices.

Establishing eligibility

You will need to complete the downloadable WaterSure form, and supply the evidence listed in the form. We will write to you to let you know whether you are entitled to the benefits of WaterSure.

If your application is successful, WateSure commences from the start of the billing period in which your application is made. In other words, from the date of the last bill. You will not be entitled to any refund on your last bill.

Change in circumstances

If the occupants’ circumstances change during the 12 month period, you must let us know. Examples of this would be when you are no longer receiving any of the benefits listed above, or if one of your children reaches 19, or leaves home. In such circumstances, WaterSure will cease to be applied at the end of the billing period in which your circumstances change.

How to apply

Download our WateSure application form and email it to us at custservice@cambridge-water.co.uk.

Auditing of applications

We are under a legal duty to check applications. Cambridge Water may contact the benefits agency, Inland Revenue, local authorities, general medical practitioners and other organisations for confirmation the validity of your claim.

Our charges scheme for 2008/09 (pdf)

Our charges scheme for 2007/08 (pdf)