Average water bills likely to hit £2,000 a year by 2050, Ofwat says

The average household water bill in England and Wales is likely to reach £2,000 a year by 2050 if supplies are to be maintained, the industry regulator has said.

- Helena Horton Anna Isaac

In its submission to the government-commissioned water inquiry, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, Ofwat said "significant investment" was needed to secure enough water and avoid the country running out, and that this would cause costs to be piled on to water bills in coming years.

Its submission reads: "Significant investment is needed to provide for these new sources of water, as well as to improve river water quality standards, to help meet net zero and for other improvements to the network. The additional investment could mean average bills reach over £1,000 by 2050, before inflation (and around £2,000 including expected impact of inflation)."

It added that about £300bn over the next 25 years would be spent on cleaning up rivers and securing water supplies. The review has been commissioned because of public anger over the actions of water companies since privatisation in the 1990s. They have been systematically dumping sewage into rivers and seas, unsustainably taking on debt and failing to build any major reservoirs, putting the country at risk of drought.