Anger and shock at 41% water bill rise

But separate landmark ruling on regulation gives hope for legal enforcement to be taken on sewage dumping at last

Dec 19, 2024

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Reactions of shock and incredulity have greeted the announcement that Yorkshire Water bills are set to rise by an average of 41% by 2030.

Households across the whole of England and Wales learned their water bills will rise by an average 36% to fix the “twin crisis” of pollution and shortages. The change takes effect from April next year.

The regulator Ofwat announced today that charges in our region will increase bills over the next five years as follows:

Yorkshire Water : 41% with the average bill being £607
Northumbria Water: 21% with the average bill being £510
United Utilities: 32% with the average bill being £585

Ofwat said the increase would pay for a £104 billion upgrade of the water sector to deliver “substantial, lasting, improvements for customers and the environment”.

Ofwat chief executive, David Black, said the regulator was "acutely aware of the impact that bill increases will have for some customers", adding that water firms now needed to "rise to the challenge" of making a "significant improvement over time to justify the increase in bills".

Campaigner Feargal Sharkey visited the River Swale in the summer

Incredulity greeted the announcement by Save Our Swale campaigners. A spokeswoman said:

“Yorkshire Water are proposing to increase our bills by a massive 41 % and OFWAT is sanctioning this increase despite previously promising the customer WILL NOT PAY TWICE.
“We have been paying for upgrades to our water and sewage system for 35 years and we should not be asked to pay again. It is incredulous that whilst operating in a monopoly environment (customers cannot choose their water company), Yorkshire Water have amassed extraordinary debt to service their profit.”

And there was anger, shock and alarm from the Stop Ure Pollution group which is monitoring in the Dales. Chairman Richard Loukota described householders as “powerless, captive customers.”

" SUP is angry and alarmed at today’s huge price rises for water, we ask you this government to stop the bill rises until all criminal investigations of water companies are completed, and the government has fully investigated water company finances.
“It is shocking in the midst of a cost of living crisis, to be asked to pay more whilst wealthy shareholders continue to extract money, and we continue to be cheated from the services we are paying for - the treatment of our sewage.”

In Ilkley, Becky Malby, Chair of Ilkley Clean River Group said residents were furious:

"We are shocked that, even though we are already paying bills on a par with the most expensive places in Europe, whilst getting one of the worst services that is polluting our waterways and overseeing a crumbling sewage infrastructure; Ofwat has decided we must send good money after bad and pay more. This is an incredulous situation that whilst every water company is failing its performance targets, and every water company is under criminal investigation by the regulators, Ofwat is colluding with the myth that the customer has not paid enough.”

The Ilkley group, a member of the national Sewage Campaign Network, is calling for the government to stop the bill rises and suspend Ofwat's price review until water companies are fully compliant with the law, are meeting their performance targets and the government's review of water industry finances is complete.

“We will be watching”

The bill rises come just days after conservation charity WildFish, received a response to its formal complaint for the authorities to comply with the law on sewage disposal.

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) decided that Ofwat, the Environment Agency (EA) and Defra have all failed to implement the law on sewage treatment, allowing water companies to pollute English rivers unlawfully for years.

Wildfish solicitor Guy Linley-Adams said the ruling vindicated everything said over the last fifteen years.

“The government and its regulators – the Environment Agency and Ofwat – have simply not been complying with the law. They have failed to implement the obligations of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulations 1994, which sets down standards for sewage treatment.
“The OEP has achieved a great deal here. They have clarified that much of the sewage pollution plaguing English rivers must now finally be brought to an end under pre-existing laws.”

WildFish made history in 2021 when its formal complaint to the OEP led to the announcement of its first-ever investigation into the regulation of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) by the EA, Ofwat and DEFRA (learn more). Two years on, in June 2023, the OEP indicated that “there may have been failures to comply with environmental law by all three of the public authorities” (read more).

The ruling was seen as a potential game changer for the campaigning groups. Prof Becky Malby at Ilkley Clean River said the Sewage Campaign Network is providing a set of amendments to the Water (Special Measures) Bill and calling on the government's new Commission to have a broader remit and look at all the models of water company ownership.

"This ruling shows the utter failing of the poorly regulated monopoly privatised system. Here in Ilkley we have been calling for the government to uphold the law, taking this to parliament last week, where we briefed MPs on the illegal activity of water companies and the need for enforcement.”

Updated at 15.40 with the specific bill rises from Yorkshire Water, Northumbria Water and United Utilities as well as to make clear the five year timeline for the changes. We’ll be continuing to follow these campaigns, will feature the work of the citizen scientists and attempt to shine a light on more of the financial aspects of this important issue in 2025.

The Northern Eco

Anger and shock at 41% water bill rise

But separate landmark ruling on regulation gives hope for legal enforcement to be taken on sewage dumping at last

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