Average water bill to increase by 3p a day

The water company has confirmed their household water and wastewater bill increase is actually a 'fall in real terms'.

Ian McAulay, Southern Water chief executive, said: "We are poised to start our largest ever investment programme with plans to spend £4 billion between 2020 and 2025.

"That follows on from £3.2 billion of investment from 2015 to 2020. Crucially, our programme also includes our biggest event spend on environmental improvements, something our customers told us was extremely important for them."

Mr McAulay said Southern Water's customers told the firm that as well as investing to protect the environment, they wanted the company to deliver high quality, value for money services.

"I'm therefore really pleased to say we will do all this while ensuring bills continue to drop in real terms. In fact, over the course of the forthcoming five-year business plan, before inflation bills will fall by more than 3 per cent."

The money paid on such bills cover the day-to-day running costs of supplying customers with high-quality drinking water and taking away and treating their wastewater as well as supporting investments.

A spokesperson from Southern Water said customers can save water, save energy and save money.

"With 90 per cent of customers now on a water meter, households only pay for what they use. This means they can save money on bills by taking simple steps to use less water."

Those in non-metered households can save money by cutting water use at 30 per cent of energy used in a typical home is used to heat water.

Southern Water suggests the following top tips to save water, energy and money:

• Wait for a full load before using your dishwasher or washing machine
• Look out for leaks – dripping taps and leaking pipes can waste lots of water
• Have a four-minute shower instead of a bath to save around 45 litres of water
• Don’t leave taps running when you brush your teeth – as well as wasting water, you're pouring money down the drain.