The little-known tip that could reduce your water bill

As if spiralling energy and food bills weren’t already enough over the past year, it looks as if there will be more increases to our water payments as well.

On Thursday, trade body Water UK warned the cost of modernising England’s sewers will ultimately be passed on to the consumer.

It comes after water companies apologised - with a number of CEOs waiving their bonuses - for polluting England’s rivers and promising change.

There were 301,091 sewage spills in 2022 in England, an average of 824 a day. Water UK wants to cut overflows by up to 140,000 each year by 2030, compared to the level in 2020, while the water companies have pledged to transform 350,000 miles of sewer while replacing concrete with grass and ponds to reduce the flow of rainwater.

Water UK said the money will be paid up front by investors... but then recuperated from consumers by gradually raising their bills over decades.

We got an indication of what those rises will look like when Anglian Water’s head of public relations, Regan Harris, appeared on BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme.

She said: “What we’re probably looking at is something in the order of about £1.75 a week for bills.”

An increase of £1.75 per week would amount to £91 extra per year. The increases are set to apply from 2025.

However, in the face of this added pressure on household finances, there is a little-known method which some people may be able to employ to bring their bills down.

This is through a potential loophole based on surface water drainage charges.

As Ofwat, the water regulator, explains: “If no surface water from your property enters a public sewer then you may qualify for a reduction in your sewerage charge.

“Companies do not know the surface water drainage arrangements of all the individual properties in its area. This means that you usually need to make an application for a rebate.”

Thames Water, the biggest of all the UK water companies, is one which offers extra rebates for water which isn't flushed down the drain.

It explains: "For most customers, there’s a small difference between the amount of water you use and the amount of wastewater that returns to our sewers. For example, water used in gardening won’t be flushed down your drain.

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"As we can’t measure the exact volume of returned wastewater, we don’t base your bill on the amount you return. Instead, we reduce our wastewater charges to allow for the mismatch. We assume that only 90% of your clean water is returned to our sewers. This 10% difference is called a Wastewater Abatement and is reflected in our wastewater charges.

"If you have a water meter and can prove that more than 10% of the water you use doesn’t return to our sewers for treatment, you can apply to reduce the cost of your bill even further."

Anglian Water is another company which offers a 10% allowance for water which isn't released into sewers, for example from hot tubs and ponds. And like Thames Water, it allows customers to extend that allowance if "you can show us that less water is being released back into the public sewers".

Policies vary from company to company, with some detailing these on their websites. Your company can be found here.