The average household water and sewerage bill in England and Wales will rise by 6% from April 1, as businesses struggle to fix sewage leaks and leaking pipes, the industry has confirmed.
Millions of homeowners will pay an extra £27 a year, taking typical bills to £473 a year.
Wessex Water and Anglian Water are at the top end of the scale, with average bills set to rise to £548 and £529 respectively, while Northumbria customers will see the lowest average bills of £422.
In contrast, industry body Water UK said companies would invest a record £14.4 billion to ensure security of supply and “significantly reduce” the amount of wastewater in rivers and seas.
The rise comes amid ongoing regulatory concerns over the dividends water companies pay to shareholders amid a cost-of-living crisis and public anger over sewage overflow into the water.
Water UK said bills rose less than in the previous financial year, and said they would be around £60 higher today if they maintained the pace of inflation since 2014.
The industry body said funds raised from higher water bills would help build 10 new tanks, increase the capacity of dozens of sewage treatment works and repair and replace more than 2,000 kilometers of pipes.
Water UK said companies will also increase their support for low-income households to the highest level.
Money raised through increased water bills is only guaranteed to fund improvements to water and sewer systems, and bills will be automatically reduced by the regulator if they are not delivered, the industry group said.
Among the projects set to receive investment over the next year is the 25km Tideway super sewer project, which will divert storm flows away from the River Thames for the first time, and will be fully operational later in 2025, reducing Sewage pollution in the river is 95%.
Work will begin on Havant Thicket Reservoir in Hampshire, a joint venture between Portsmouth Water and Southern Water and the first reservoir to be built in the UK in more than 30 years.
Wessex Water said it is investing more than £150 million in wastewater and stormwater capacity at major water recycling centers near Bath, Bristol and Bournemouth.