Households in England and Wales have been warned they face staggering increases in their water bills of up to 47% from April 1, with homes in some areas paying hundreds of pounds a year more for their water use from next month. A slate of water bill hikes will see households pay anything from 19% more to 47% more per year for water and sewerage, far eclipsing hikes to council tax, energy bills or broadband and mobile bills, which are all increasing from April as well.
Households in England and Wales will see an average £123 or 26% increase to their yearly water bill from April 1, final figures show. The rise will take the average water and wastewater bill from £480 to £603 for the next year alone. This equates to an increase of around £10 a month, from £40 to £50. But millions of households face even steeper rises, with Southern Water customers told they will see a 47% increase, Hafren Dyfrdwy and South West Water bills rising by 32%, Thames Water customers warned they will see a 31% hike and Yorkshire Water raising bills by 29%.
Martin Lewis said about the increases on his latest episode of The Martin Lewis Money Show Live: “We have privatisation without competition which some would argue – including me – is the worst of both worlds in this case.”
According to Martin, if you have more bedrooms in your home than you do people – or the same number – then you “almost certainly should be using a water meter”, as this means you’ll only pay for what you use.
Speaking on his ITV Martin Lewis Money Show this week, Lewis explained: “So, the first question, do you have more or the same number of bedrooms in your home than people? If so, a free water meter is likely to cut your cost. Go on to ccw.org.uk, Consumer Council for Water, and use their calculator.
“If you’ve got a very big house and there aren’t many in, you’d be better off being metered for the amount of water and sewerage that you use, it makes sense.”
The full list of water bill increases from April for every area of England and Wales are:
Anglian Water – up 19%
Dwr Cymru – up 27%
Hafren Dyfrdwy – up 32%
Northumbrian Water – up 19%
Severn Trent Water – up 22%
South West Water – up 32%
Southern Water – up 47%
Thames Water – up 31%
United Utilities – up 23%
Wessex Water – up 20%
Yorkshire Water – up 29%
