The average water bill is £639. So why does everyone quote something different?
Search it and you will be told £415, £450, £473, £514, £639, even £759. They are not contradicting each other so much as measuring different things. Here is the one current official figure, and exactly why every other number you will see is higher or lower.
England and Wales, water and sewerage together, forecast by Water UK for the year from 1 April 2026, up £33 or 5.4%. This is the number to use.
The supply of clean water is £309 of it. The other £330 takes your waste water away. A water only company charges roughly the first figure, not the whole bill.
From Northumbrian at the low end to Southern at the high, among combined companies. Where you live moves the bill by over £200 before anything else.
Water UK's own words: National average water bills for the coming year are forecast to be £639 (a rise of £33 or 5.4%).
The source →
Why every other figure is different
None of these is wrong exactly. Each is measuring something the £639 is not.
Ofwat: £473 for 2024/25
Ofwat publishes bills in real terms, stripped of inflation, to show the trend across its five year price review. That is a different accounting lens on the same sector, not a cheaper bill. Its £597 figure is the end point of the settlement in 2029/30. The page →
uSwitch: around £415
Tied to 2019/20 charges reviewed in February 2019. A six year old figure still live on the page. Water bills have risen sharply since, so any pre 2024 figure understates today's bill badly. The page →
Selectra: roughly £450
Described on its own page as only a broad industry average, with no specific year attached. A rounded, undated number that sits well below the current official forecast. The page →
ukwaterbills.co.uk: £514, and £664 elsewhere on the same site
A figure the site builds itself by averaging company charges schemes. The two numbers on the one site do not reconcile, which is what happens when water only companies are folded into a combined average. It is an arithmetic mean of companies, not the official average weighted by how many customers each has. The page →
The six things that move an average water bill
- Water only against water and sewerage. The single biggest lever. The water part alone is £309, the combined bill £639. A water only company like Portsmouth cannot be compared with a company that also takes your sewage away.
- Metered against unmetered. Metered customers use 122 litres per person a day, unmetered 175, so the bill assumption swings on which you are. A meter helps a low user and hurts a high one.
- Region. Among combined companies the 2026/27 average runs from £535 at Northumbrian to £759 at Southern. Where you live moves the bill by hundreds of pounds before anything else.
- Which nation. England and Wales run the £639 regime. Scotland collects water with the council tax, averaging £532 for 2026/27. Northern Ireland does not charge households separately for water at all. Blending the nations into one average is meaningless.
- Real terms against nominal. Ofwat's lower headline numbers are inflation adjusted. Water UK's are the cash figure on your bill. Same sector, different presentation.
- Forecast against actual. The £639 is a forecast for the year ahead, set before the year has been billed. The final average can move a little.
The full bill at every combined company, 2026/27
Combined water and sewerage companies only, so these are full household bills you can compare like for like. Water only companies are excluded because they do not take your sewage. Cheapest first.
| Company | Average bill | Rise |
|---|---|---|
| Northumbrian | £535 | +6% |
| Severn Trent | £587 | +10% |
| Hafren Dyfrdwy | £635 | — |
| Yorkshire | £636 | — |
| Thames | £658 | +0.4% |
| United Utilities | £660 | +9% |
| Anglian | £674 | +7% |
| Welsh Water, Dwr Cymru | £683 | +5% |
| Wessex | £695 | +3% |
| South West | £740 | +6% |
| Southern | £759 | +8% |
Where this comes from, and where it could be wrong
Ways this page could mislead you
The one current official number is £639, England and Wales, combined water and sewerage, a nominal forecast for the year from 1 April 2026. Every other figure on this page is either a different accounting basis, an older year, or a differently built average.
None of these figures is your bill. Your bill depends on your company, whether you are metered, and how much water you use. The look up on the water charges page gets you closer to your own number.
Scotland and Northern Ireland are different regimes and are named here only so nobody blends them into an England and Wales average.
Regional figures are averages within each company's area. Two homes with the same company still differ by usage and by meter.
Sources
30 price changes logged. Every one had a date you could have known in advance.
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