[LadyRuby]

As energy costs go, so do all other costs.

Water bills to rise by more than twice the rate of inflation

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')ater and sewerage bills in England and Wales are set to rise by an average of 5.5% from the beginning of April, the industry regulator Ofwat announced yesterday.

The increase will mean customers will pay an average of £294 for 2006-07 - up £15 on last year - prompting concerns about the impact on households on low and fixed incomes, which are already facing big rises in energy bills and council tax.

...

Philip Fletcher, Ofwat's director general, said: "I realise that these bill increases will not be welcome but I want to reassure customers that bills are going up by no more than is necessary.

"Price rises are unavoidable because of rising costs and the new challenges facing water companies."

[SHiFTY]

Yep the UK is a very expensive place to live in terms of fixed costs. Privatisation and the massive bloated social bureacracy mean that average people pay and pay for every damn thing. Unless of course you are on the dole, in which case a flat is provided and all your bills paid... The number of benefit scammers here is unbelieveable for this very reason.

The big one is Council tax, which funds the local council's empire of pointless administrators. The tenants of the house must pay this, rather than the rich land owners. However, gas, electricity and now water have all had huge increases in the last few months.

With all the massive increases in bills, plus reasonably crappy wages, it is no wonder that half the british public is in debt up to their ears...

[FireJack]

It will be a much more drastic scenerio in the desert areas of the US if the drought continues like it has. I can see entire cities going dry.

[Leanan]

We may have to choose between water and energy.

PBS:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')very day millions of gallons of clean ground water in the American West are being contaminated, all in the rush to drill for gas.

It took thousands of years to recharge these aquifers.

They're pumping it out and in maybe ten years it will be gone.

Texan Boone Pickens made his fortune in oil. Now he's mining for water, looking for hundreds of millions in profits.

[Aqua]

Here in Northern Ireland our water service is being privatised. From next year every householder here is going to be charged depending on the market value of their property and to add insult to injury the rates (money paid for local government services including water) are also going up substantially.
Here is a link if anybody is interested

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3651406.stm

Bills like these are even more annoying when one considers we live in a country with a ridiculous surplus of rainfall compared to the rest of the world. If we could export it this would be the next fort McMurray for sure.

[Leanan]

It's based on property value, not on the amount you use?

So there's no incentive to conserve at all?

[Aqua]

Like I said it is not a limiting resource here. Most of the charges are going to upgrade the sewage system which is an absolute disaster thanks to years of under investment, its mostly Victorian. Since stormount fell all decisions are made by totally unaccountable bureaucrats together with emperor Hain and emperoress Smith under decree of Whitehall.

[Aqua]

I forgot to add that common sense will not be tolerated.