Your UK water bill: how it is calculated and how to pay less

Water is the UK's forgotten utility: you cannot choose your supplier, there is no tariff to compare, the bill arrives once or twice a year and most people simply pay it. Yet the savings here run into hundreds of pounds, and households on a low income can have their bill cut by up to 90%. Here is how the bill is built, when a meter pays off, which discounts exist, and what to do about arrears.

What water costs now

In April 2026 bills in England and Wales rose by an average of 5.4% — about GBP 33 a year on a typical bill. The average hides a wide spread.

Water and sewerage combined, 2025/26 to 2026/27: Southern Water GBP 704 to 759 (+8%), South West Water 701 to 740 (+6%), Wessex Water 678 to 695 (+3%), Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water) 652 to 683 (+5%), Anglian Water 630 to 674 (+7%), United Utilities 603 to 660 (+9%), Thames Water 655 to 658 (+0.4%), Yorkshire Water 602 to 636 (+6%), Hafren Dyfrdwy 581 to 635 (+9%), Severn Trent 535 to 587 (+10%), Northumbrian Water 504 to 535 (+6%).

Water-only companies are billed separately, with sewerage charged by one of the firms above: Affinity Water (central region) GBP 235 to 266 (+13%), South East Water 303 to 324 (+7%), Essex and Suffolk Water 318 to 333 (+5%), Bristol Water 235 to 264 (+12%), Sutton and East Surrey 231 to 257 (+11%), South Staffs (South Staffs region) 224 to 230 (+2%), Bournemouth Water 194 to 205 (+6%), Portsmouth Water 149 to 162 (+8%).

In Scotland water is part of the council tax bill and rose by 8.7% in April — GBP 435 a year in band A. In Northern Ireland households pay no separate water charges at all.

Why you cannot switch supplier

Unlike electricity, your water company is set by your address. The only decision that changes the amount is not who bills you but how.

There are two ways. Without a meter, the bill is based on the rateable value of your home. Every property was assessed in 1973; after that only new homes were assessed, and since 1990 new homes have been metered from the start. You cannot have your home reassessed and there are no plans to change the system. How much water you actually use is irrelevant.

With a meter, you pay for what you use.

When a meter pays off

The rule of thumb: if your home has as many bedrooms as people, or more, a meter is likely to save you money. One person in a two-bedroom flat with a high rateable value is the classic case where the bill falls several times over.

You have a legal right to a meter, installed free of charge, unless it is impractical or unreasonably expensive. Tenants have that right too and do not need the landlord's permission, though the tenancy agreement may ask you to tell them. Installation should take up to three months, or six in areas where free meters are being offered for the first time.

If a meter cannot be fitted — shared pipework in a block of flats, for example — ask for an assessed charge instead, based on bedrooms, property type, number of occupants or the regional average. One MoneySavingExpert reader refused a meter by Thames Water went onto an assessed charge and saw his bill fall from GBP 567 to GBP 370.

Changing your mind is possible, but not everywhere. Northumbrian, United Utilities, Wessex, Yorkshire, South West, Welsh Water, Bristol and Bournemouth allow a free switch back within two years; Severn Trent within one year; Thames within twelve months for a voluntary meter. Affinity, Anglian, Essex and Suffolk, Portsmouth, SES, South East and Southern do not allow it at all. In compulsory metering areas nobody does.

The Consumer Council for Water runs a free water meter calculator that compares your likely metered cost with what you pay now.

Social tariffs: the discount millions miss

Every water company offers a social tariff. They cut or cap the bill — by as much as 90% — and work with or without a meter. Income thresholds are typically up to about GBP 30,000 a year, often lower, and some schemes also require certain benefits.

More than 3.8 million households are estimated to be missing out, worth an average GBP 175 a year.

In numbers: Thames Water (WaterHelp) cuts the bill by 25% to 99% where the bill is more than 5% of net income, and automatically enrols eligible customers in 17 London boroughs. Severn Trent (Big Difference) reduces the bill by up to GBP 411 for incomes under GBP 24,454. Welsh Water (HelpU) caps the bill at GBP 350.16. Yorkshire Water (WaterSupport) caps it at GBP 295, 390 or 469 for incomes under GBP 21,000 (26,000 with dependants). Affinity Water (Lift) caps it at GBP 160.80, or GBP 108 with council tax reduction. Portsmouth Water (Helping Hand) caps it at GBP 94. Southern Water (Essentials) cuts 45% to 90%. United Utilities (Help to Pay) caps bills at GBP 310.80 or 442.80 for Pension Credit households.

Apply directly to your water company, which will assess your income and circumstances.

WaterSure: a national cap for larger families and medical needs

This scheme is the same at every company. You need three things at once: a meter, at least one qualifying benefit (Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Child Tax Credit other than the family element, Working Tax Credit), and either three or more children under 19 in full-time education, or a medical condition that means you use extra water.

Qualifying conditions include abdominal stomas, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, incontinence, weeping skin diseases, home dialysis for renal failure and other conditions requiring extra water. You will usually need a prescription or a doctor's letter as evidence; some companies reimburse the cost.

The effect: however much water you use, your bill will not exceed your company's average household bill.

If you cannot pay

First, your water cannot be cut off. A water company is not legally allowed to disconnect or restrict a household supply over arrears. It can take you to court and can have money deducted from benefits — but it cannot turn off the tap.

Which is why water arrears are not a priority debt. Priority debts are rent and mortgage, gas and electricity, council tax and court fines, where you can lose your home or your supply. If money is short, those come first — see our guide to priority debts and Breathing Space.

Second, call the company rather than hide. All suppliers must offer a repayment or restart plan. A common one is matched payments: for every GBP 1 you pay the company pays GBP 1, rising to GBP 2 after six months of regular payments. Affinity, Welsh Water, Southern, Thames and United Utilities also run charitable funds that can write off part of the debt; Welsh Water, for instance, clears 50% of the debt for every six months of payments you make.

Third, tell the company if someone in the household is disabled or has a long-term physical or mental health condition — that unlocks extra support and the Priority Services Register.

Sewerage: what you may be paying for needlessly

Sewerage is billed on a simple assumption: what comes in goes out, usually 90% to 95% of it. In several situations that is wrong, and you can get money back.

If rainwater from your roof and drive runs into a soakaway, a river or a canal rather than the mains sewer, you are due a surface water drainage rebate. Check your deeds or the planning file at the council. One MoneySavingExpert reader who asked Anglian Water got a six-year backdated refund of GBP 220.

If the property is on a septic tank or cesspit and is not connected to the mains sewer, you should not be paying sewerage charges at all.

If you are metered and a lot of water goes outdoors — a pond, a pool, a large garden — you can ask for a reduction, but the burden of proof is on you. Anglian and South West allow a sub meter on an outside tap, which you arrange and pay for yourself.

Refused a rebate? Take it to the Consumer Council for Water, the free consumer body for water.

Leaks and readings

On a meter you pay for every litre that passes it, leaked water included. But companies do not normally charge for the first leak on an underground supply pipe — you have to report it.

Check that your bill uses actual readings. A meter should be read at least once a year, or at least once every two years if only the company can reach it. Long runs of estimated bills are common: one reader paid estimates for more than two years and was owed a sizeable refund once a real reading was finally taken.

If you rent

Either the bill is in your name, or water is included in the rent. In the second case your landlord is reselling you water, and there are rules: they cannot charge more than the water company would, plus a reasonable administration fee. If you think you are being overcharged, keep your payments and readings and compare them with the company's tariff.

If your landlord does not pay the water bill, the company cannot disconnect you — it will pursue the landlord. If the landlord disconnects the supply, contact the council's Environmental Health department. You cannot be evicted for trying to get your supply restored. For what else has changed for tenants, see our guide to the Renters' Rights Act.

Compensation: when the company owes you

The guaranteed standards scheme, set by the regulator Ofwat, is compulsory. The company pays if it misses an agreed appointment, fails to maintain pressure, does not restore a supply on time or does not answer a query in time. Some payments are automatic; if one is not made, claim in writing within three months of the incident. In England the minimum amounts were raised in 2025 and now stand at no less than GBP 40 for each standard breached. If you owe money, compensation is credited to your account rather than paid out.

One line matters especially this year: if emergency drought restrictions leave you unable to drink, cook, wash or flush, the company must pay GBP 10 for each day or part day the supply is interrupted, capped at its average household bill for the previous year.

If the company refuses, complain to the Consumer Council for Water, which can refer the case to Ofwat.

Why this matters this autumn

On 2 October 2026 the Environment Agency reported that September was the sixth month of the year with below-average rainfall — 65% of average across the country, 52% in the east of England, 57% in the south east, 59% in central England and 69% in the south west. England's reservoirs, normally about 74.3% full at this time of year, are less than half full: Ardingly in West Sussex at 23% and Wimbleball in Somerset at 21%. South East Water has applied for a non-essential use ban.

For a household that means two things. Restrictions on hosepipes and car washing will continue in some regions, and for anyone on a meter saving water turns directly into money. Most companies give away free water-saving kits — efficient shower heads, tap inserts, shower timers, cistern bags, and right now winter kits with pipe lagging and outside tap jackets. More than 700,000 items are available, though not from every company: Thames Water, Severn Trent, Southern and Hafren Dyfrdwy have stopped.

Saving hot water cuts the gas bill too: the Energy Saving Trust estimates that a single efficient shower head saves a family of four about GBP 30 a year on gas and about GBP 30 on water.

In short: what to do this week

Count bedrooms and people — if there are at least as many bedrooms, run the CCW calculator and ask for a meter. Check whether you qualify for a social tariff or WaterSure. Check your bill is on actual readings. Find out where your rainwater goes. Order a free water-saving kit. And do not put water at the front of the payment queue if rent, energy or council tax are also behind.

For the rest of this autumn's bills, see our guides to the energy changes from 1 October, the Warm Home Discount and council tax.