Water bills keep rising

Households across the UK face above inflation increases in their water bills, with the average home paying £342 for water and sewage in the coming year.

The 4.1% increase - effective from April 1 - has been permitted by water watchdog Ofwat to enable utility companies to continue improvements on their networks and services.

Ofwat acknowledged that rising water bills will do little to help credit crunched families, but said the increase was justified considering improved water quality and reduced numbers of leaks.

Ofwat chief executive Regina Finn said: “No one wants to see bills increasing, particularly in tough economic times.

“Yet over the last 20 years we have made sure that this essential investment has delivered very real benefits for us all.”

Leaks have been reduced by a third over the past 20 years, Finn said, with 20,000km of pipes being replaced in the past five years, significantly reducing the number of homes at risk of flooding.

She added that pollution control made possible by price increases over the last five years has seen Britain’s beaches tidied up from being some of the dirtiest in Europe.

“We were viewed as the dirty man of Europe,” she said. “Now we have more than 120 Blue Flag beaches.”

According to UN estimates, 2.7 billion people will be faced with water scarcity by 2025.