Metered customers

Your bill explained

When you look at your bill you will see charges for the following services:

As you have a water meter, both your water and wastewater charges are based on how much water you have used. We normally take a meter reading every six months and then send you a bill for the amount of water you’ve used since we sent your previous bill.

If you can show that more than 5% of the water that we supply to your home does not return to a public sewer, you can claim a reduction on your sewerage charges. Our claim form explains this in greater detail (PDF 186 KB opens in a new window).

Your meter records the amount of water you use in something called ‘cubic metres’ and we charge you for every cubic metre you use (see ‘How to read your meter’ below for an explanation of cubic metres).

There is also a charge to take away rainwater from your home and the roads (which we call ‘surface water and highways drainage’) and standing charges too. These are fixed annual charges and are not based on your meter reading.

Our charges are updated every year on the 1st April - you can find out our current charges using the link below

Our Charges

How we calculate your bill

Your meter records your water use in ‘cubic metres’. So what exactly is a cubic metre?

We charge £3.65 for every 1,000 litres of water you use (based on our 2024/25 charges).

Image right: Jill Marshall from United Utilities pictured next to a water butt containing 1 cubic metre of water.

When you look at your meter, you’ll see a line of black and white numbers, as well as red and white dials or numbers. The black and white numbers show how many cubic metres you’ve used and we use this number to calculate your bill.

That's why when you submit a meter reading, we only ask for the black digits (i.e. the full cubic meters used) and not the red numbers to the right of the reading, which record part meters used.

It’s easy to have accurate bills

When we read your meter we send you a bill for the water you’ve used. If we’re unable to read your meter we’ll send you an estimated bill, unless we receive a meter reading from you.

Submitting a reading is the best way to ensure you are getting accurate bills - all you need to do is:

• Read your meter (watch the 'how to' video)
• Then log in or register
• Or Download our app from the App Store or Google Play