Water bills

The prices we pay for our water bills are regulated by Ofwat. The water industry is not as open to competition as most other areas in this Cut your bills section.

Most households in the UK do not have any choice as to who they get their water supply from. However, consumers can research the type of water they have to see whether they would be better off having a water meter and many people can save hundreds of pounds over just a few years.

Around thirty per cent of homes are charged based on having a water meter. This means your water bill is based on actual usage. Water meters are also used to calculate your sewerage bill.

However, around 70 per cent of households are still billed based on the water bill system. Here the price is fixed in a similar way to the Council tax bill, you are billed based on the rateable value of your home.

There are no plans at present to change this system and there is no appeal process to get the rateable assessment of your home changes (as there is with Council tax).

	Water bills will go up by an average of 5.7% from April Water and sewerage bills in England and Wales are set to rise by an average of 5.7 per cent from April as part of the regulator, Ofwat's plans to pay for improvements.
	Sewerage and water bills 'to rise with inflation' Consumers will see their water and sewerage bills rise in line with inflation this year, Ofwat has revealed.
	Water bills set to rise over change in responsibility for private sewers Water bills will rise for around half of all UK households because water companies are to take over the responsibility of maintaining and repairing private sewers.
	Water companies selling "unnecessary" water pipe insurance Most of the UK’s largest water companies are promoting potentially unnecessary pipe insurance, costing consumers more than £100 million a year, a Which? study shows.
	Water bills to fall by 2015 The average householder in England and Wales could be paying slightly less for their water bills in 2015.