Regarding the issue of water meters being installed outside the buildings

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The building where I live was constructed in the 1990s; it has 5 floors, with 2 households per floor, for a total of 10 households. Back then, water meters were installed inside each household. After the year 2000, the water supply company required that the water meters be moved outside the houses, and they provided free piping to install these meters in a meter box located downstairs. However, due to the layout of the apartments on the east side of each floor, the piping had to pass through the living room, and it had to be an exposed pipe. Since everyone’s homes had already been decorated, some people firmly refused to make such changes. The water supply company stipulated that work could only be carried out if all households agreed, and they would not carry out modifications for just the households on the west side. In the end, the water supply company installed a main meter for the entire building; from then on, the main meter was read every month, and each household shared the cost based on the readings from their own indoor meters. The problem is that the total water consumption shown on the main meter is always much higher than the sum of the water consumptions shown on the individual meters; the excess amount is distributed among all the households, resulting in each household having to pay an additional two hundred yuan or so in water fees per year. Since the households on the east side are unwilling to have their pipes modified, the households on the west side are very dissatisfied and secretly accuse one another of stealing water, leading to disharmony among the neighbors. Actually, as long as the water supply company agrees to make the changes, by modifying the connections for those few households that are willing to do so and installing separate main meters for those who are not, the problem can be solved. Even if the costs have to be borne by the users, the water supply company simply refuses to agree. Every year, when the water bills are distributed at the end of the year, several households argue over this issue. It’s not a serious matter, but it’s quite annoying. Do you have any good suggestions for resolving this?