Households in England and Wales must splash out more as water bills rise again

Water bills in England and Wales will rise by an average of £33 per household in April, in the latest above-inflation increase intended to fix leaking pipes and sewage treatment works.The increase will push the average annual water bill to £639 in the year from 1 April, up 5.4% on the previous year, according to figures published on Thursday by Water UK, a lobby group for the industry.The highest average bill will be as much as £759 for Southern Water customers in southern England.Water companies have come under sustained criticism in recent years amid outrage over sewage spilling into Britain’s rivers and seas.The regulator, Ofwat, granted companies permission to charge customers a record £104bn between 2025 and 2030 in order to pay for maintenance and upgrades.Annual water bills surged by £123 last year at the start of the five-year period. The 5.4% increase will be two percentage points above December’s rate of inflation.Customers of United Utilities in north-west England will see the biggest increase in their average annual bills – £57. The smallest increase to the average bill of the combined water and sewerage companies will be the £3 added by Thames Water, the crisis-hit supplier to London and the Thames Valley, which added most of its five-year increase last year. Individual household bills are determined by usage and the size of homes.Campaigners have criticised the bill increases. River Action is taking the government to court to argue that the hikes were not granted properly. Its chief executive, James Wallace, said claims of record investment meant “that bill payers, not water companies, are being forced to pick up the tab for decades of failure”.David Henderson, Water UK’s chief executive, said: “We understand increasing bills is never welcome, but the money is needed to fund vital upgrades to secure our water supplies, support economic growth and end sewage entering our rivers and seas.“While we urgently need investment in our water and sewerage infrastructure, we know that for many this increase will be difficult.”Water UK said that 2.5m households will pay social tariffs, receiving up to 40% off their bills. However, the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), which represents consumers, said poorer households faced a “postcode lottery” because of different policies on support from different water companies.Mike Keil, the CCW’s chief executive, said: “We’ve seen complaints brought to CCW about the affordability of water bills almost triple in the past year and further bill rises will compound people’s worries.“People support investment in improving services, but they are impatient for change and need to see compelling evidence their money is being well spent.“A stronger safety net is also needed for those who simply can’t afford these bill rises. The postcode lottery of financial assistance created by existing water company social tariffs is unfair and unsustainable in the face of rising water bills.”Water is provided by government-owned companies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.