UK water bills to rise from April 2026 – full list of bill increases per area | Personal Finance | Finance
Water bills in England will rise by an average of £33 a year from April 2026 (Image: Getty)
Water bills in England and Wales will rise by an average of 5.4% in April, the industry has confirmed. Water UK said the increase of around £33 a year, or an extra £2.70 a month, would help fund significant improvements to water infrastructure.
This follows last year’s record increase and will take the national average water bill to £639 per year. Water UK chief executive David Henderson said: “We know rising bills are never welcome, but money is needed to fund vital improvements.” Water UK said the rise was 2% higher than inflation but came as companies prepared to invest £20bn in 2026-27 to secure water supplies and stop sewage from entering rivers and seas.
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In some areas, water bills will increase by up to 13%. (Image: Getty)
He promised that money from water bills could only be used to fund infrastructure that had been independently determined to be “new, necessary and value for money”.
The money-back guarantee means that customer invoices will be automatically refunded by the issuer if improvements are not made.
Ofwat has allowed water companies to increase their bills by 36% between 2025 and 2030, with around 20% of this applied to last April’s increase.
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) has warned that customers are “impatient for change and need to see convincing evidence that their money is being well spent”.
Mike Keil, CCW chief executive, said: “We have seen complaints brought to CCW about the near tripling affordability of water bills in the past year and further bill increases will increase people’s concerns.”
Bill increases vary significantly by region; Affinity Water (middle zone) will see the largest increase at 13% on April 1.
Severn Trent customers will see a 10% price increase, Sutton and East Surrey customers will see an 11% increase and Bristol Water customers will see a 12% increase.
South East Water is seeing its bills rise by an average of 7% a year to £324, despite days of supply disruptions blamed on Storm Goretti this month.
Other factors, such as whether the customer is metering and how much water they are using, mean billing changes will vary.
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More than two million households currently receive help with their bills through social tariffs, the WaterSure scheme and other affordability measures, and this will increase by an estimated 300,000 households next year. The expected average discount on submitted invoices will be around 40%.
Support, which varies by supplier, has been criticized as a “postcode lottery”, with some areas receiving significantly more help than others.
CCW has called for a single social tariff for England and Wales that would provide consistent and better targeted support for those experiencing water poverty.
Mr Keil said: “A stronger safety net is also needed for those who cannot afford these bill increases. Our independent review of water affordability in 2021 made clear that a single universal social tariff would ensure financial support flows to where it is needed most.”
“The postcode financial aid lottery created by existing water companies social tariffs is unfair and unsustainable in the face of rising water bills.”
Chris Walters, interim chief executive of Ofwat, said: “By April 2027, we expect water companies to have installed more than eight million water meters in homes to help customers manage their bills, replaced around 3,000km of pipeline which will ensure customers experience fewer supply disruptions and reduce sewage leaks from storm floods by 30% from 2024 levels.
“These are just three examples of what will help us achieve our collective goal of cleaner rivers and seas, more resilient water resources and better services for customers and the environment.
“However, we also recognize that these bill increases may be difficult for some people. That’s why we’ve approved doubling existing company support for customers struggling to pay, with more than two million households now accessing this help.”
Full list of water and waste companies’ bill increases
Here’s the regional breakdown of average annual household bills in England and Wales for 2026-27, according to Water UK.
- Anglian Water – £674, up £44 or 7%
- Dwr Cymru (Wales Water) – £683, up £31 or 5%
- Hafren Dyfrdwy – £635, up £54 or 9%
- Northumbrian Water – £535, up £31 or 6%
- Severn Trent Water – £587, up £52 or 10%
- South West Water – £740, up £39 or 6%
- Southern Water – £759, up £55 or 8%
- Thames Water – £658, up £3 or 0.4%
- United Utilities – £660, up £57 or 9%
- Wessex Water – £695, up £17 or 3%
- Yorkshire Water – £636, up £34 or 6%
Complete list of bill increases for water-only companies
- Affinity Water [Central region] – £266, £31 or 13% increase
- Affinity Water [East region] – £280, up by £1 or 0.4%
- Affinity Water [South-east region] – £294, increase of £3 or 1%
- Bournemouth Water – £205, up £11 or 6%
- Bristol Water – £264, up £29 or 12%
- Essex and Suffolk Water – £333, up £15 or 5%
- Portsmouth Water – £162, up £13 or 8%
- South East Water – £324, up £21 or 7%
- South Wand Water [Cambridge region] – £210, up £7 or 3%
- South Wand Water [South Staffs region] – £230, up £6 or 2%
- Sutton & East Surrey Water – £257, up £26 or 11%
- National Average – £639, an increase of £33 or 5.4%
