Water bills set to rise by £156 per year to fund green mission

The five-year plan would see a sharp increase in customers' bills despite widespread fury over how water companies have maintained their infrastructure in recent years

Water bills could rise by approximately £156 annually to fund environmental and structural improvement works.

Providers will invest £96 billion by 2030 - almost double the current level - to pay for 10 new reservoirs, cut leaks and stop sewage spills.

The sector is looking to address public anger over sewage being pumped into beaches and rivers during storms, but warn that this will need to be reflected in a consumer price hike.

Consumers will be asked to pay higher bills to pay for the upgrades, with industry body Water UK setting out that under the proposals, the average bill in England is expected to be £7 per month higher by 2025 compared with 2023’s prices.

That will escalate to £13 per month extra by 2030, equivalent to £156 more per year.

The move to raise prices could face a backlash as households grapple with cost-of-living pressures and high inflation levels.

David Henderson, chief executive of Water UK, said he recognised increased bills were “never welcome” but urged regulator Ofwat to sign off on the proposals so the sector could counter sewage spills “as fast as possible”.

Ofwat has promised to “forensically scrutinise” the sector’s blueprint to ensure the hike in bills over the five-year period is “justified”.

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey has said “major improvements” were required, having called for water firms to “step up and deliver lasting changes” with its 2025-2030 submission.

Ms Coffey said she has been “very clear” with Ofwat that “customers should not pay the price for poor performance”.

The watchdog, which has faced questions about its ability to regulate the sector, will scrutinise the plans before a final decision is made at the end of next year.

The industry said the planned investment, if approved, would cut leakage by more than a quarter by 2030 compared with the start of the decade, putting performance among the top five countries in Europe.

Spending £11 billion on modernising Victorian era sewers is forecast to reduce spills into waterways by more than 140,000 each year by the end of the decade, Water UK said.

Nature-based schemes to manage rainwater will be created and technology brought in to better manage flows, as part of the upgrade works.

Water UK said 30,000 new jobs and 4,000 apprenticeships will be created to help deliver the plan, representing a 50% increase in the workforce.

Mr Henderson said: “While increasing bills is never welcome, this investment in our country’s infrastructure is essential to ensure the security of our water supply.“

Anger at the performance of water companies is running high across much of the country.

Rye in East Sussex has been without running water for several days and is relying on bottled water.

Hotels have been forced to cancel guests and local businesses have been forced to change their services.

Katy Colley told ITV News she had elderly neighbours and complained no one had visited their house to explain what was going on.

She said: "I know they're bringing in bottles but some of these people can't even open a bottle."

Southern Water said they restored water supply to the town on Sunday night after the issues were caused by a burst pipe beneath a railway bridge.

They said the pipe was made of a plastic they wouldn't use and had been in place since before Southern Water existed.

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