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Garden water meter and sewerage allowance

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are on a metered bill, the hose has been on the border all summer, and you hope a garden reading will cut the wastewater charge. A garden water meter sewerage allowance is a company question first: how much water is already assumed not to return to the sewer, and what proof that company wants above that. It is not a feature of any amazon.co.uk hose LCD in this folder. Product prices and the nine-row table stay on the [garden water meter comparison](/hub/garden-supplies/garden-water-meter). The Products Compared editorial team read Ofwat and the published company pages alongside the amazon.co.uk files dated 19 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are on a metered bill, the hose has been on the border all summer, and you hope a garden reading will cut the wastewater charge.

Our top picks

RESTMO RESTMO brass hose meter

Best overall

RESTMO RESTMO brass hose meter
8.4/10about £26.99
View offer
DEWIN DEWIN 15 mm dial meter

Rank 2

DEWIN DEWIN 15 mm dial meter
6.6/10about £25.99
View offer
RESTMO RESTMO meter with tap adaptors

Best value

RESTMO RESTMO meter with tap adaptors
7.7/10about £21.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The allowance that is already on the bill
  2. 2.What a further claim needs
  3. 3.What these hose meters are not
  4. 4.A ban is a different rule

The allowance that is already on the bill

Ofwat explains that the company’s meter sets the volume you are charged for, and wastewater usually follows that volume with an allowance for water that does not return to the sewer. The percentage is not one UK rate. Anglian Water’s household FAQ already allows 10% for water that does not return, and will look at a privately fitted sub-meter on an outside supply when you use a lot of water in the garden. Anglian does not supply that meter. Thames Water’s wastewater abatement page assumes about 90% returns, so 10% does not return, and wants proof if you claim more than that, plus twelve months of readings. Wessex Water’s non-return page states an automatic 5% that already includes normal hosepipes, sprinklers, and paddling pools. Severn Trent’s 2025–26 household charges scheme treats 95% of water in as returned to sewer. Do not average 5% and 10% into one figure for the whole country. Northern Ireland and Scottish schemes are outside these English and Welsh pages. Water is still charged; only the wastewater volume is in play when an allowance applies.

What a further claim needs

Ask your own retailer what apparatus, location, and record they will accept. South West Water’s meters FAQ prices a company sub-meter route at £154 plus VAT on that page: their manifold and their meter, not a hose body from this set. A click-on LCD between tap and hose can still be a private notebook of litres. It is not automatically the sub-meter those pages describe. If you are choosing between a hose LCD and a 15 mm pipe dial for a permanent branch, read hose water meter or inline water meter, then still ask the company before you call either a billing instrument.
RESTMO RESTMO brass hose meter

Testsieger

RESTMO RESTMO brass hose meter
8.4/10about £26.99
View offer

What these hose meters are not

None of the nine amazon.co.uk files in this folder shows a Measuring Instruments Regulations 2016 approval mark for trade use. Schedule 6 sets in-use errors of ±6% and ±2.5% for a cold-water meter used for trade. A seller bullet that says under 5% or ±5% is not that regime. RESTMO, Rainpoint, Shrivee, Insoma, Hoite, and DEWIN are scored here as garden counters and one pipe dial, not as revenue meters. A UK review of Rainpoint that a Severn Trent call centre had not heard of the device is one phone call, not the charges scheme. A UK review that used DEWIN in a Welsh Water dispute is one story, not a WRAS or MID certificate in the file. Do not send a hose-meter screenshot to Anglian and expect the same outcome as a plumber-fitted sub-meter on an approved outside supply.

A ban is a different rule

A temporary use ban under Water Industry Act 1991 section 76 can prohibit or restrict hosepipe watering. A garden water meter does not create an exception. If a ban is in force in your area, follow the company notice, not the total on your LCD. Choosing which hose listing to buy for ordinary season logging returns to the garden water meter buying guide.

Common questions

Is some garden water already taken off the sewerage charge?
Often yes, as an automatic percentage on a metered account. Anglian and Thames work from about 10% not returning; Wessex states 5% that already includes normal hose use; Severn Trent assumes 95% returns. Check your own bill and company page.
Will Anglian accept a hose-meter photo?
Anglian’s FAQ talks about a privately fitted sub-meter on an outside supply for heavy garden use above the automatic 10%. It does not name RESTMO, Rainpoint, or any ASIN in this folder. Ask Anglian what apparatus they accept before you rely on a click-on LCD.
What does Thames ask me to prove?
Proof that more than the assumed 10% does not return to sewer, plus twelve months of readings on their wastewater abatement page. A season of hose totals may help your notebook; it is not a guarantee of abatement.
Why might Wessex refuse a pond fill?
Wessex’s page says the automatic 5% already covers normal hosepipes and paddling pools, and that emptying a pond or pool to a drain is normally refused as an extra claim. Water that never passed the company meter is not a sewerage claim either.
What does Severn Trent’s scheme say about a private meter?
The 2025–26 charges scheme assumes 95% of water in returns. A private meter is only in play if the company approves the apparatus, the place, and the readings. A call-centre remark about one branded hose meter is not that approval.
What does South West Water charge to fit its own sub-meter?
Their meters FAQ lists £154 plus VAT for the company sub-meter route on that page. That is their fit and their meter, not one of the nine ASINs here.
Is this amazon meter legal for trade?
These files show no trade approval under the Measuring Instruments Regulations 2016. Use them as garden counters unless your company has approved a specific apparatus for a private reading.
Does a meter let me use a hosepipe during a ban?
No. A temporary use ban is a separate power. Ofwat cites a fine up to £1,000. Follow the ban notice for your area.

Related pages

How to fit a hose water meter

Garden water meter

Best garden water meter: the top pick and best value

Garden water meter buying guide: litres and thread

Hose or inline garden water meter: which one to buy

Sources

Public UK sources for this comparison. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk listings in this set. Page updated 22 October 2026.

  1. Ofwat: metering (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. Ofwat: temporary use bans (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. Measuring Instruments Regulations 2016, Schedule 6 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. WaterSafe: outside taps (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. Hozelock: outdoor tap connector (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. Anglian Water: garden water use (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Thames Water: wastewater abatement (retrieved 22 October 2026)