Consumers will be paying around £2 a month more for water a rise of around six per cent as water Companies across England and Wales are promising to invest more than £14.4 billion in 2024- 25 – the highest annual investment on record.
The investment will help build 10 new reservoirs, increase the capacity of dozens of wastewater treatment works – meaning more capacity to treat sewage than ever before – and see more than 2,000 kilometres of pipes repaired and replaced.
United Utilities will start work on replacing large parts of the 110km Haweswater Aqueduct which has successfully served 2.5 million people in Cumbria, Lancashire and Greater Manchester for sixty years.
At the same time a record 2 million households are now receiving some sort of financial support with their bills – nearly double the number last year – with over £1 billion of support provided to customers since 2020.
This includes reduced tariffs, payment breaks and debt forgiveness. Customers are encouraged to contact their water company directly to see what help is available if they are concerned say Water UK
David Henderson, Water UK Chief Executive, said:
“Next year will see record levels of investment from water companies to secure the security of our water supply in the future and significantly reduce the amount of sewage in rivers and seas.
“Up and down the country customers will see the results of this investment with more than 2,000 kilometres of pipes being repaired or replaced and more capacity to treat sewage than ever before.
“At the same time support for customers is doubling with more than 2 million families now being with helped with their bills. Anyone with worries should contact their water company and, it is worth remembering, water companies will never cut anyone off or make them use a prepayment meter.”
