There’s no one else to pay for water but us punters

Water bills in England and Wales will rise by an average of £33 per household in April, in the latest above-inflation increase intended to fix leaking pipes and sewage treatment works.

So, why’s that?

The regulator, Ofwat, granted companies permission to charge customers a record £104bn between 2025 and 2030 in order to pay for maintenance and upgrades.

If we all want to have cleaner rivers - thanks Feargal! - then we’re all going to have to pay for it. Whether this is done by capitalist companies or state - like Welsh Water - makes no difference to this base point. All the outrage about the rivers - being able to swim in the one at Hebden Bridge for example - just does mean that us chickens out here will have to pay more. Because there’s no one else to pay for anything at all except us chickens. We might be able to pay through our taxes and we might be able to pay through our water bills but that’s the only choice there is. Higher standards, more infrastructure, costs more money and we out here will have to pay for that.

The only reason this investment and so higher bills hasnl;t been happening before is because OfWat, the water regulator, wouldn’t allow the suppliers to raise their prices enough to pay for it. Now OfWat will which is why your water bills are going up.

Tim Worstall