The water meter is about 200m away. It is in a field on the other side of the road. To make matters worth, the meter has very small numbers and is 1.5m down a manhole.
This causes us a bit of a problem;
- You can’t read the meter unless you trespass on someone else’s land;
- You can’t read the numbers on the meter unless you go down the manhole head first and leave you legs dangling in the air;
- If there is a leak in the pipe between the meter and our property, we are liable even though it isn’t on our land.
All in all, a poor situation. Talking to Yorkshire Water, it would appear that the meter was installed there (in the 1970’s) because at that point the water main didn’t come any further up the road. So that explains the odd position of the current water meter.
Yorkshire Water are not interested in moving the meter. However, the water main does now come up the road, so it is possible to get a new water connection. Cost? Estimated to be between £1,000 and £2,000 depending on whether they have to close off the road and put in traffic control. I have paid £100 for them to come up and do a survey so that we can get a more accurate cost.
200m down the road in the footpath you will find the stopcock for the water. A blue mark on the drystone wall marks it’s position. Apparently, in the late 1970’s when this was installed the water main only came this far up the road.
On the other side of the drystone wall is an inspection chamber. Lift the lid and you will find a water meter about 1.5m down. Unfortunately, the numbers are very small so reading the meter can be a challenge. The house is just behind the small tree in the centre of the photo.