{
  "dataset": "prices.water",
  "generated": "2026-09-20T13:55:15.015Z",
  "licence": {
    "compilation": "CC BY 4.0",
    "compilation_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
    "attribution": "Tariff Tracker, tarifftracker.io, published by PEF Consulting Partners Limited",
    "underlying": "The figures themselves belong to the bodies named in each dataset's sources. Most are Crown copyright under the Open Government Licence v3. Supplier tariff rates belong to the suppliers who publish them. Check the source terms before you rely on any of it commercially.",
    "corrections": "If a figure here is wrong, say so and we will correct it and record that we did."
  },
  "docs": "https://tarifftracker.io/api/",
  "fields": "https://tarifftracker.io/api/v1/dictionary",
  "as_of": "2026-04-01",
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "Water UK, average bill changes 2026/27",
      "url": "https://www.water.org.uk/annual-average-bill-changes-2026-27"
    },
    {
      "name": "Discover Water, annual bill",
      "url": "https://www.discoverwater.co.uk/annual-bill"
    },
    {
      "name": "CMA, PR24 final redeterminations",
      "url": "https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69afb3e2917847c0a4c89a23/PR24_Final_determinations_summary.pdf"
    },
    {
      "name": "Defra, A New Vision for Water white paper",
      "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-new-vision-for-water-white-paper/a-new-vision-for-water"
    },
    {
      "name": "gov.uk, WaterSure reform",
      "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/news/reduced-bills-for-around-300000-households-in-watersure-reform"
    },
    {
      "name": "CCW, help with bills",
      "url": "https://www.ccw.org.uk/save-money-and-water/help-with-bills/"
    }
  ],
  "caveats": [
    "Water UK publishes a combined figure per company. The split between water and sewerage by company is not available from a primary source, only the national split of £309 and £330.",
    "Ofwat's own website refused every automated request while this page was built. The Ofwat material here comes from the official press mirror, the CMA and gov.uk rather than from Ofwat directly.",
    "There is no published year by year bill path for 2026/27 to 2029/30. Only the start and end points of the price review are official. Anything showing a year by year trajectory is somebody's projection.",
    "Water company boundaries follow river catchments, not postcodes. Where we match a postcode to a company we say so is approximate, and where an area is split between two companies we show both rather than guess.",
    "Bristol Water is no longer a separate company. Ofgem's water equivalent, Ofwat, terminated the Bristol Water licence on 1 February 2023 and varied the South West Water licence to cover the area, after Pennon bought the business. Separate price controls, and therefore separate charges, are kept for the Bristol Water area, which is why it still bills under its own name. Bristol Water's own charges scheme says so.",
    "Averages are one number a year. What your company actually charges per cubic metre, per year and per pound of rateable value is on the water charges page, read from each company's own charges scheme."
  ],
  "data": {
    "vertical": "water",
    "name": "Water and wastewater",
    "tagline": "You cannot switch, so nobody sells you a comparison. Here is what every company charges anyway.",
    "headline": {
      "value": "£639",
      "unit": "/yr",
      "label": "Average household bill, England and Wales, 2026/27",
      "sub": "Water £309 plus sewerage £330. In force from 1 April 2026.",
      "direction": "up",
      "change": "+£33 (+5.4%)",
      "band": "elevated",
      "source": "Water UK",
      "as_of": "2026-04-01"
    },
    "benchmark": {
      "value": 639,
      "period": "a year",
      "placeholder": "639",
      "what": "your annual water and sewerage bill",
      "note": "Compared against the England and Wales average. Your own company average is often the fairer test, and it is in the table below."
    },
    "stats": [
      {
        "k": "Cheapest company",
        "v": "£535",
        "n": "Northumbrian"
      },
      {
        "k": "Dearest company",
        "v": "£759",
        "n": "Southern"
      },
      {
        "k": "Scotland, via council tax",
        "v": "£532",
        "n": "+8.67%"
      },
      {
        "k": "Northern Ireland households",
        "v": "£0",
        "n": "Charges deferred"
      }
    ],
    "tables": [
      {
        "title": "Water and sewerage companies, average annual bill 2026/27",
        "note": "Combined water and sewerage. Water UK publishes the combined figure only, so the split by company is not available from a primary source.",
        "cols": [
          "Company",
          "Combined bill",
          "Change",
          "Change %"
        ],
        "rows": [
          [
            "Southern Water",
            "£759",
            "+£55",
            "8%"
          ],
          [
            "South West Water",
            "£740",
            "+£39",
            "6%"
          ],
          [
            "Wessex Water",
            "£695",
            "+£17",
            "3%"
          ],
          [
            "Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water",
            "£683",
            "+£31",
            "5%"
          ],
          [
            "Anglian Water",
            "£674",
            "+£44",
            "7%"
          ],
          [
            "United Utilities",
            "£660",
            "+£57",
            "9%"
          ],
          [
            "Thames Water",
            "£658",
            "+£3",
            "0.4%"
          ],
          [
            "Yorkshire Water",
            "£636",
            "+£34",
            "6%"
          ],
          [
            "Hafren Dyfrdwy",
            "£635",
            "+£54",
            "9%"
          ],
          [
            "Severn Trent Water",
            "£587",
            "+£52",
            "10%"
          ],
          [
            "Northumbrian Water",
            "£535",
            "+£31",
            "6%"
          ]
        ]
      },
      {
        "title": "Water only companies, water element 2026/27",
        "note": "These figures are the water element alone. Your sewerage is billed separately by the regional wastewater company on top, so your total bill is higher than the number shown. Two names here are regions rather than companies: Bournemouth Water is a separately charged region of South West Water Limited and still publishes its own charges scheme, and Essex and Suffolk is a separately charged region of Northumbrian Water.",
        "cols": [
          "Company",
          "Water element",
          "Change",
          "Change %"
        ],
        "rows": [
          [
            "Essex and Suffolk Water",
            "£333",
            "+£15",
            "5%"
          ],
          [
            "South East Water",
            "£324",
            "+£21",
            "7%"
          ],
          [
            "Affinity Water, South East",
            "£294",
            "+£3",
            "1%"
          ],
          [
            "Affinity Water, East",
            "£280",
            "+£1",
            "0.4%"
          ],
          [
            "Affinity Water, Central",
            "£266",
            "+£31",
            "13%"
          ],
          [
            "Bristol Water",
            "£264",
            "+£29",
            "12%"
          ],
          [
            "SES Water",
            "£257",
            "+£26",
            "11%"
          ],
          [
            "South Staffs Water",
            "£230",
            "+£6",
            "2%"
          ],
          [
            "South Staffs, Cambridge region",
            "£210",
            "+£7",
            "3%"
          ],
          [
            "Portsmouth Water",
            "£162",
            "+£13",
            "8%"
          ]
        ]
      }
    ],
    "facts": [
      "Households in England and Wales cannot switch water supplier. Supply is a regional monopoly and the 2014 reforms deliberately excluded domestic customers.",
      "Businesses can switch retailer in England, and have been able to since 1 April 2017. In Wales only sites using more than 50 megalitres a year are eligible.",
      "You have a legal right to request a meter, free, under section 144A of the Water Industry Act 1991. You can switch back to unmetered within 12 months, or 24 months with Welsh Water.",
      "As a rough rule, a meter saves money if you have more bedrooms than people.",
      "Where a meter cannot be fitted, the company must offer assessed charges based on the property rather than usage.",
      "Bills are rising because of PR24. Ofwat approved £104bn of investment for 2025 to 2030, taking the average bill from £440 to £597 before inflation, a 36% rise front loaded into the first year.",
      "Five companies challenged that settlement. The Competition and Markets Authority ruled on 10 March 2026, awarding them £463m more, about 17% of what they asked for, worth roughly 2.2% on their customers' bills.",
      "There is no national social tariff. Support is company by company, which the consumer body CCW calls a postcode lottery, with reductions ranging from £120 to £314.",
      "Households in Northern Ireland pay nothing for water. Domestic charges have been deferred since 2007 and are funded through the regional rate instead.",
      "Scotland is different again. There is no separate water bill; charges are collected with council tax and banded, and the average is £532."
    ],
    "support": [
      {
        "name": "WaterSure",
        "what": "Caps your bill at the company's average household bill. Average saving £325 a year. 260,800 households on it.",
        "who": "You need a meter, a means tested benefit, and either a medical condition requiring extra water or three or more children under 19 in full time education."
      },
      {
        "name": "Company social tariffs",
        "what": "Discounts from roughly 20% to 99%, set by each company. 1.96 million customers, average reduction £190.",
        "who": "Income based. Thresholds vary by company, typically £17,000 to £30,000 household income. Severn Trent's Big Difference Scheme goes up to £411 off below £24,454."
      },
      {
        "name": "Leak allowance",
        "what": "Rebates water lost through a leak on your own supply pipe, and can adjust sewerage charges too.",
        "who": "Metered customers. Largely discretionary and the policies differ by company. Typically you must repair within 30 days of finding it."
      }
    ],
    "page": "https://tarifftracker.io/water/"
  }
}