Now water firms plan to raise bills by 40% to fix leaking pipes

DIRE warnings that water companies may hike bills by a staggering 40 per cent were labelled "not unrealistic" by an expert yesterday.

- Robert Kellaway

Civil engineer Sir John Armitt responded to claims firms need the cash to overhaul leaking pipes and sewer networks, while coping with unpredictable rainfall patterns.

The chair of the National Infrastructure Commission said: "By 2050, the Environment Agency and the water companies believe that about £50billion needs to be invested to get sewage overflows down to an acceptable level.

"We previously estimated that £20billion needs to go into ensuring that we have sufficient water by 2050.

"So, as you can see, you're talking about very large sums of money to restore and enable our water infrastructure and our sewage infrastructure to be fit for purpose." Asked if reports that bills would need to increase by around 40 per cent within a few years, Sir John said "they're probably not unrealistic".

He spoke after it was revealed water companies are drawing up plans to increase household bills to meet their costs in the coming years.

In a move that has alarmed ministers, England's privatised utilities said that they needed the extra money to meet strict pollution targets.

The rises are due to be announced next year and could result in annual bills increasing from an average of about £450 to £680, plus inflation, in some parts of the country. Sir John added: "As a country, we have to decide what quality, what level of infrastructure we require. We then have to decide whether we want to pay for it and if we can afford it.