Having a bath, washing the car, and even flushing the toilet could all soon be regarded as something of a luxury. As the drought in the south-east gets worse the government has allowed Folkstone and Dover Water Services to install compulsory water meters.
Other companies are keen to follow, and meanwhile we are being offered helpful tips on how to save water from the Environment Agency. It says we should be showering not bathing, and turning off the tap when cleaning our teeth.
Never one to mince his words, London mayor Ken Livinstone goes further. "If all you have done is take a pee, you don't need to flush the toilet every time," he said last summer.
Compulsory water metering might mean we now take such advice more seriously. Households use up to 15% less water after meters are installed, according to the government. In Folkestone and Dover only 30% of housesholds are expected to pay more for water as a result of metering.
According to Elliot Morley, the environment minister, metering is the "fairest way to pay for water" and helps save it too. Consumer groups are concerned about large households on low incomes but as long as vulnerable groups are protected, most support the introduction of compulsory metering.
It was once all so different. Only 10 years ago Labour environment spokesman Frank Dobson described water metering as " expensive, unjust, dangerous to health and the least cost-effective way of protecting the environment".
