MORE than 30,000 homes in Southampton have now had meters installed in a bid to save enough water to more than fill Wembley Stadium three times over every week.

This comes as the first 100,000 water meters have been fitted under Southern Water’s programme to introduce meters for the majority of its South East customers.

The five-year project to install more than 500,000 water meters was launched late last year in Southampton, Horsham, West Sussex and Medway in Kent which are all experiencing strain on their supply.

Customers will now be charged on how much they use to encourage less water use. After meters were fitted in the Isle of Wight in 1989, homes there now use an average 122 litres of water per person per day, compared to 140 to 145 litres on the mainland.

Southern Water director of metering Darren Bentham said: “As people on a water meter tend to use 10 per cent less, our metering programme is set to play a key role in our work to ensure we can continue to supply customers across a region defined by the Government as ‘water stressed’.

“Metering is also a fairer way to charge as households pay for the water they use, and it puts people in charge of their bills.

“In addition, it helps protect the environment as when people don’t use as much water then we don’t need to take as much from rivers and underground sources.”

A total of 130,000 meters will be fitted in Southampton on a street-by-street basis.

On installation day Southern Water advisers will be on hand to answer customer queries about the new meters and metered bills as well as to give them free water saving devices, such as save a flush bags for toilet cisterns.

To find out more about Southern Water’s metering programme visit southernwater.co.uk/metering or call the Metering Customer Contact Centre on 0333 2003 012.