NEW water meters with leak alarms are being fitted to save more than five million litres from being wasted every day.

Southern Water is spending £83m installing the new devices and will be able to read them remotely by picking up readings on a computer as their workers drive past.

The region has been described as “water stressed”

by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs so the meters are being used to save water and help cater for more homes and population rises in future.

Jon Crooke, deputy director of metering, said: “Around 20 per cent of leaks occur on customers’ pipes. The meters we are installing are the most advanced in the water industry and include a ‘leak alarm’ to help more easily detect when water is escaping from household supply pipes or internal pipework.

“These leaks are the responsibility of the householder but to help everyone save water we will fix up to three external leaks free of charge.”

It is estimated £15,000 worth of water will be saved every day once all 500,000 are fitted across the Southern Water area by 2015 – enough water for more than 37,000 people.

To pay for a range of improvements the regulator Ofwat authorised an average £20 increase on annual bills from 2010 to 2015 on top of inflationary rises.

Mr Crooke added: “The new meters are automated meterreading meters, which means they can be read remotely by a member of our meter reading team driving by in a vehicle equipped with a special receiver and computer.

“This is a major leap forward in terms of making the process of reading meters much, much more efficient.”

A study on the Isle of Wight found that when people moved onto a meter they used ten to 15 per cent less water.

Around sixty per cent of Southern Water customers currently pay a bill based on the estimated rental value of their home but the new meters will see 92 per cent paying for what they use.

Around 38,000 have been installed in Southampton so far and they have been read remotely since July.

Southern Water is working across the city from east to west before moving on to other parts of Hampshire.