Water payments will go up by greater than initially anticipated over the subsequent 5 years

Millions of hard-pressed householders face brutal water bill hikes of up to 84% – and more.

Bosses at Southern Water, which services 4.6 million customers and business in Sussex, Kent, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, wants to push the average customer’s payment of £420 a year to £772 by 2030. It comes after the Daily Star reported the fat cats are 1,000 years behind with replacing lead pipes in the UK’s water network – which could end up poisoning consumers.

The bill hike warning also follows a shocking earnings audit that revealed Britain’s water company bosses increased their bonuses to £9.1 million this year, despite record levels of leaks and sewage spills doubling.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned water firms any hike in customer bills must be used to rebuild the nation’s “crumbling” supply system instead of lining the pockets of bosses or shareholders.

She added regulators must keep a tight rein on the industry – declaring: “If prices are going to go up it’s really important that all of that money goes into investment, rather than share buybacks, dividends and bonus payments.”

Thames Water, the UK’s largest operator, which looks after 16 million people across Britain, is looking to hike last year’s bills by 53%.

An average bill from the firm is around £436, but the firm is set to push the sum to £667 by 2030.

Industry regulator, Ofwat, which published the expected bill hike figures, will have the final say on how much they can soar.

Severn Trent Water, which caters for the Midlands, is looking to increase customer bills by almost £200. It will mean customers will go from splashing out £398 a year to £580 by 2030.

Water firm bosses insist the rises are to cover infrastructure fixes. All eleven water and wastewater firms originally requested bill rises to the regulator in July.

But the figures have now been revised by the companies. Only one company, Wessex Water, is not seeking a higher bill than previously stated. It wants a rise of 29% – from £508 to £658 in the next six years.

Industry watchdog Ofwat has fined Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water around £170million between them for failing to tackle the dumping of untreated sewage into Britain’s rivers and seas.

Some of the UK’s water companies are caught in what has been branded a “doom loop”. It means they are being fined for sewage discharge and leaks, leaving them with even less funds to fix the problems they have been punished for causing.

Chris Weston, chief executive of Thames Water, has said: “We want to deliver a considerable increase in investment in our infrastructure, with total expenditure of £20.7billion in our core plan and a further £3billion through gated mechanisms.

“The money we’re asking for from customers will be invested in new infrastructure and improving our services for the benefit of households and the environment. They are not being asked to pay twice, but to make up for years of focus on keeping bills low.”

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