An eye-watering round of increases has been announced by regulator Ofwat, despite fury at the performance of operators.
Southern Water customers are being hit hardest with bills going up 53 per cent over the period - and inflation projected to add another 10 per cent.
Water bill is going up as bosses green light huge hikes of 36%- with some locations facing a
53% rise PLUS inflationWater bosses were today given the green light for huge bill hikes averaging 36 per cent over the next five years.
An eye-watering round of increases has been announced by regulator Ofwat, despite fury at the performance of operators.
Southern Water customers are being hit hardest with bills going up 53 per cent over the period - and inflation projected to add another 10 per cent.
Severn Trent customers must brace for 47 per cent rises, two Welsh firms 42 per cent and Yorkshire Water 41 per cent.
Thames Water, which has been paying bonuses to executives despite being in the grip of a funding crisis, has been allowed a 35 per cent increase.
The bill rises for England and Wales - averaging £31 a year - would begin to take effect from April next year.
The move comes at a time of public outrage over pollution in rivers, huge salaries paid to water company bosses and massive dividends taken by shareholders.
Just this week the Office for Environmental Protection ruled that water companies should have had no excuse to tip sewage as the law has been clear that it is illegal since at least 1994 - but the Department for Environment, the Environment Agency and Ofwat failed to enforce the law.
Between 2021 and 2023 alone water companies paid £2.5billion in dividends and added £8.2billion to their net debt.