Water bills to rise in UK to pay for sewerage leaks

Ruth Kelly the chair of Water UK told Sky News today (Thursday, May 18) that a 10bn pound investment to stop sewage spills will be paid for by “modest” increases to householder’s bills.

She went on to say the project will start the biggest transformation since the Victorian times and that water firms will provide a huge down payment and that over the lifetime of the water system, customers do pay the money back with increases.

She further commented that over the last ten years, many people have seen a fall in their water bills, but that research has shown that people wouldn’t mind paying slightly more if the investment in the system is going to take place.

The announcement comes as large bonuses and dividends paid to water company bosses have caused outrage whilst there is a huge amount of sewerage being pumped into UK rivers.

The Industry body, Water UK said they were willing to pledge £10 billion on a clean-up project and they issued an apology to campaigners, who Water UK said had “a right to be upset.”

Ms Kelly was asked why the public had to bear the brunt f the investment even though the water companies were paying out massive dividends, she said that the dividends had been very low compared to other sectors,

But she did go on to say “all water companies CEOs have come together and said they’re not going to pay a single penny in bonuses out of customer funds this year.