Turning the tide on rising water costs

EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON THE WAYS YOU CAN SAVE MONEY ON THOSE EVER-INCREASING BILLS. BY PRUDENCE WADE

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Use eco mode on washing machines and dishwashers

IT’S an unfortunate fact of life, but for many of us, water bills are rising.

The regulator Ofwat confirmed at the end of January that household bills across England and Wales would increase by an average of 5.4% from April.

This is the equivalent of £33 a year, and comes hot on the heels of last year’s 20% rise, or an average of £86 per household.

“Unfortunately, unlike mobile phone providers or broadband or energy providers, there’s nothing you can do to shop around for a cheaper supplier,” says Greg Marsh, household finance expert and CEO of money-saving tool Nous.co.

“Your water supplier is your water supplier, and it’s a postcode lottery.”

While you might be wise to changing your energy provider every few years to get a better deal, the same logic doesn’t quite work for water. So is there anything you can do to help keep bills down?

Reducing your water usage is the “obvious answer” for getting bills down, particularly if you’re on a smart meter, says Greg, even if “it’s not always the fun answer”.

Daniel Lintell, sustainability manager at Triton Showers, adds that “small behaviour changes” can have a huge impact, because “every drop makes a difference”.

“Showering accounts for probably a quarter of a typical household’s water usage,” he suggests.