Water bills are reportedly set to go up by as much as 40 per cent as the cost of living crisis continues to batter ordinary Brits.
New reports suggest that water companies are outlining plans to increase household bills between 2025 and 2030.
This is said to be to help pay for the cost of tackling water companies' sewage spill repair costs, and as a consequence of climate change.
The private companies have said that they need the extra money to meet targets imposed on them, The Times reported.
The Mirror previously reported on how water companies were seemingly looking to offload the costs of cleaning up sewage spills onto British households.
The rises won’t be announced until next year but could result in average bills hiking by as much as £230, as a household could see them rise from £450 to £680, plus inflation in some areas.
This is despite water companies coming under fire for wasting hundreds of millions of litres of water every day through leakage and pumping sewage into the country’s waterways.
Southern Water was slapped with a record £90 million record fine for dumping raw sewage into rivers and coastal water in 2021 after it confessed to almost 7,000 lawbreaking discharges.
The company is reportedly proposing increasing its charges to customers from £432 annually to a minimum of £677 by 2030 - amongst the biggest rises.
Thames Water, which wastes around 630 million litres of water a day, is proposing a 20 per cent rise, the report said, and Wessex Water are said to be eyeing up a price hike of 30 per cent.
Two million homes across Kent and Sussex have just had a hosepipe ban imposed on them by South East Water who are said to be planning to increase bills by as much as 39 per cent by 2030.
Just a few months ago, water prices rose 11 per cent in some areas, as Brits now seemingly face a future of price hikes.
England’s water companies were requested to submit investment plans to tackle pollution from sewage by the autumn, in a process overseen by water regulator Ofwat.
The money would be used in part to improve storm overflows discharging in or near bathing spots, and high-priority nature sites.
Public consultation documents seen by The Times show that, to pay for the work, most companies are asking the regulator to approve real-terms price increases of, on average, 25 per cent between 2025 and 2030.
Water UK, which represents the polluting water companies, recently apologised for sewage spills and vowed to spend £10 billion up to 2030 dealing with the problem.
A spokesperson told The Mirror: “There is an urgent need for investment to transform our rivers and seas, radically reduce leakage and protect future water resources.
"While it is clear bills will need to rise, the exact level is not yet known. These figures will change, because they are part of a consultation process with companies testing proposals with their customers.
“Any bill increases would be distributed across several years to make this more manageable for customers, and industry will take action to ensure that those who are less well-off are protected as much as possible.
"It will ultimately be up to Ofwat to determine the appropriate level of customer bills to accommodate needed investments.”
An Ofwat spokesperson said: "Water companies are currently preparing their business plans for 2025-2030. As part of these plans, companies will need to make considerable investment to deliver better services for customers and improve their impact on the environment - both of which are falling short.
"Companies will need to manage the affordability of their business plans for current and future customers and those less able to pay their bills, carrying out research to understand customers' views. We will consider that evidence, along with a wide range of other considerations, as part of our price review process."
