THE installation of thousands of smart water meters in Hampshire households is set to begin in four months.

Homes in Sholing, Itchen and Thornhill areas of Southampton will be the first in the county to be compulsorily metered.

Over the next four years Southern Water will spend £83.5m on metering almost all its customers in Hampshire, Sussex and Kent.

In total, almost 500,000 homes will have the new AMR (automated meter reading) devices, which are capable of detecting leaks and Southern Water expects the “universal metering” scheme will cut household water usage by about ten per cent.

The company claims it is a fairer system as residents will only pay for the amount of water they use.

However, campaigners have warned bigger, lower-paid households could end up paying higher bills.

Darren Bentham, Southern Water’s universal metering director, said the rollout would start next month with four small-scale pilots in Sussex.

Street-by-street installation will then continue in Sussex in July, before Kent in August and finally Hampshire in September.

In the first 12 months, 68,000 meters will be installed across the south east, an area classified as under severe water stress.

Emma Bush, water expert at comparison website uSwitch.com, said there was a business and environmental case for bringing in compulsory metering, but the impact on local families and households was not so clear cut.

“There will be winners and losers.

The fact is that being on a water meter suits some families and will help them cut costs, but others will find themselves paying more.

“If there are less people in your home than bedrooms then the chances are you will save money by being on a water meter. But if you are a large family or just tend to use a lot of water then the chances are that your bills will be going up.

“Those likely to be in the danger zone are people who water their gardens every night from the tap, frequently wash their car at home, run lots of washing machine and dishwasher loads and enjoy a lot of baths.”

Ms Bush added: “The important thing is that local households are given every support, information and advice possible – if people don’t understand how to reduce their water consumption they could end up facing substantially higher water bills.

“It’s vital that every step possible is taken to avoid this so that local households hopefully see their bills going down rather than up as a result of compulsory metering.”

To ease fears that bills will rise for large families, Southern Water last night revealed there would be a changeover period to give customers time to adjust.

If during the first year of having a meter the household’s new bill is higher than their previous rateable value bill, then they will pay the lower charge for 12 months.

However, if their new metered bill is lower than what they paid previously, they will pay the lower charge.

Accompanying bills will also provide information on the water they have used and make suggestions as to how they might save additional water.

“It will give people an opportunity to understand how they use water, whether they use a lot or a bit compared with other people,” Mr Bentham said.

“It will also give them an opportunity to use water differently, from replacing white goods to their everyday use.”

An advertising information campaign will be launched shortly and homes will be given at least two weeks’ notice before an engineer arrives for the installation.

As first reported by the Daily Echo, Southern Water customers are also set to become the first in the country to pay more for their water in the summer.

Households will pay six per cent more for their water in the summer months between June and September to encourage them to cut their use.

Southern Water last night said the controversial scheme, described as a “stealth tax” by gardeners, would not be introduced this summer.

The earliest it could come into force is October, which is the start of the eight-month winter period when water rates will actually drop.

The schemes are part of a multi-million pound plan to reduce how much Southern Water abstracts from the River Itchen in times of drought.

■ How will universal metering affect me?

Southern Water says its customers will not be charged for the installation of the meter.

Almost every home (92 per cent) of homes across Hampshire, Sussex and Kent will have a water meter fitted.

No customers will be able to revert after having a meter fitted.

Your water meter questions answered

■ Will I save money on a water meter?Southern Water believes many of its customers could save money with a water meter. They say how much you save depends on the number of people in the household and how careful they are with water.

Comparison website uSwitch.com said the general rule of thumb is that if there are less people in your house than bedrooms (for example two people living in a four bedroom family home) then you could save money.

Conversely, a large family living in a small threebedroom house could see their bills rise.

■ Where will the meters be fitted?

Where possible Southern Water will fit meters under the pavement outside the property at the location of the external stop tap.

Many properties already have a boundary box where the meter will be installed. If this is not possible, the meter will be fitted at an alternative, suitable location such as inside the customer’s house at the location of the internal stop tap.

■ How will I be charged?

The meter measures the volume of water passing through the pipe into the household.

This is measured in cubic metres (one cubic metre equals 1,000 litres of water) and bills are calculated on the amount of cubic metres used.

Customers are also charged for the water returned to the sewerage system, which is then treated and recycled back to the environment.

Southern Water work out bills on the basis that only 92.5 per cent of water goes into the sewers because some is used in the garden or evaporates.