Water bill hikes will push some to £1,000

Water bills could top £1,000 a year as thousands of families face punishing increases of up to 29%.

Money down the drain: Water bills could reach £1,000 a year

Those without meters will be especially hard hit despite industry regulators promising help for hard-pressed consumers.

Although they have capped rises between 2010 and 2015, there will still be huge increases in many areas.

The typical bill for families in the South-West without a water meter will rise by 29% on top of inflation, up by more than £200 to £935.

Once inflation is added, they are likely to pay more than £1,000 a year from April 2014.

Families without meters in the Wessex Water area will see a rise of 20% above inflation.

The figure is 13% above inflation in the Anglian Water area, 12% for customers of Northumbrian Water and 10% in the Yorkshire Water area.

The Government has made it clear it would like to force meters on millions of families to encourage them to cut their water use.

The latest price rises could have that effect, as customers find the only way to cut their bills is to switch.

Thames Water is the UK's largest water company, covering 3.2m homes. Households that do not have a meter - currently 2.4m - will see their bill rise by 9% on top of inflation between 2010 and 2015.

Among the smaller water companies, there will be a 17% rise above inflation for customers of Bristol Water without meters, and a 15% rise at South East Water.

The size of the bills has been decided by the industry regulator, Ofwat, which assesses what is needed to pay for work to improve pipes, deal with leaks and alleviate sewer flooding.

Water companies were lobbying for even bigger rises. South West Water proposed a rise of 40% above inflation for non-meter homes, while Thames sought a 25% rise.

But consumer groups said the discrimination against customers without water meters was still of 'deep concern'.

More than 70% of consumers in the South-West are opposed to the increases, according to the Consumer Council for Water.

Its South-West chairman, Charles Howeson, said: 'We will push Ofwat hard on the issue of the disproportionate impact of these decisions on un-metered customers. Customers should not be driven into switching to metered charges by making unmetered bills unaffordable.'

But Ofwat chief executive Regina Finn insisted the regulator was protecting consumers. She said the national average bill - before inflation - would come down by £3 to £340 by 2015.

'We've scrutinised every pound in the companies' plans to make sure they deliver what customers want at a fair price,' she said.

'We're allowing companies to invest more than ever before, £22bn.' Some companies have indicated they may challenge Ofwat's ruling and seek higher rises through an appeal to the Competition Commission.

Industry trade body Water UK said its members would not have the money to carry out essential maintenance work.