Water bills in the UK will strike £448, Water UK revealed

Key takeaways: 

• Water bills will rise by the most in nearly 20 years from April.

Water bills are ready to get the most significant increase in nearly 20 years from April.

Water bills in the UK to hit new high: 

The annual bill for an average home in England and Wales will strike £448, industry body Water UK has stated. The 7.5% rise means consumers will pay, on average, £31 more than last year.

Customer groups said the rise would squeeze struggling families when one in five already sees it challenging to pay. But Water UK says the growth for most customers will be under inflation.

This estimate of the rate of general price climbs in the UK was 10.5% in December. Water UK even argued that the bills stayed lower realistically than they were a decade back.

It continued that the increase reflected higher energy prices, with water companies using approximately 2% of the UK’s electricity.

Last year water companies were found to be regularly dumping illicit sewage into rivers in England and Wales.

Sewage was released into rivers 400,000 times in 2020. The Liberal Democrats charged water firms with prioritising earnings over saving the environment.

Water UK’s investment in infrastructure: 

Water UK said on Thursday that companies had already funded infrastructure and would invest £70bn to “stop harm” from storm surges and improve water supplies by creating new reservoirs and national water transfer systems.

It stated that since the water industry was privatised, almost £190bn has been funded to improve services. It continued that water firms “are acutely aware of the effect of price climbs on lower earnings and weak customers”.

“Businesses have recently raised the level of support they offer by almost £200m, which will help hundreds of thousands more households,” it stated.

Almost one million households already get assistance with water bills, which will rise to 1.2 million.