Monetary consultants reveal three easy methods you may beat rising water payments

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Your help makes all of the distinction. Learn extra Households throughout England and Wales are bracing for one more improve in water payments, with a median rise of 5.4 per cent set to take impact from April.

This newest hike, confirmed by regulator Ofwat on the finish of January, will add a median of £33 to annual family prices.

It follows a considerable 20 per cent improve final yr, which noticed payments climb by a median of £86 per family.

The approaching rise in water prices comes amidst a wider panorama of escalating family bills, inserting additional pressure on private funds.

Not like different important providers, customers haven't any recourse to hunt out a extra reasonably priced supplier, based on family finance professional Greg Marsh, CEO of Nous.co.

"Sadly, in contrast to cell phone suppliers or broadband or power suppliers, there’s nothing you are able to do to buy round for a less expensive provider," Marsh defined.

He added, "Your water provider is your water provider, and it’s a postcode lottery."

<img src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2026/02/27/08/25125441-1af2d4ee-7c8d-4ee1-a754-613e9489c9f7.jpg" srcset="https://static.independent.co.uk/2026/02/27/08/25125441-1af2d4ee-7c8d-4ee1-a754-613e9489c9f7.jpg?quality=75&width=320&auto=webp 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2026/02/27/08/25125441-1af2d4ee-7c8d-4ee1-a754-613e9489c9f7.jpg?quality=75&width=640&auto=webp 640w" loading="lazy" alt="Particularly if you’re on a smart meter, reducing your water usage is the ‘obvious answer’ for getting bills down" class="sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn"/> open picture in gallery

Significantly if you happen to’re on a sensible meter, decreasing your water utilization is the ‘apparent reply’ for getting payments down Whereas customers would possibly routinely change power suppliers to safe higher offers, the identical technique merely does not apply to water, leaving many questioning what choices, if any, exist to mitigate these rising prices.

Set up a sensible meter

When you haven’t already put in a water meter, Marsh strongly urges you to think about getting one by contacting your provider.

“Why would you need to try this? You would possibly suppose, effectively, I don’t need them to know precisely how a lot I’m utilizing,” says Marsh. “But when your own home has extra bedrooms than individuals, get a sensible meter – you’ll in all probability get monetary savings.”

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In accordance with the federal government’s Atmosphere Company, solely 12 per cent of properties in England have good water meters put in.

Marsh provides: “The opposite profit of getting a sensible meter is you’ll know you’re paying for precisely what you devour, which in flip means if you happen to do need to minimize down your water payments by, as an example, having smaller baths or being considerate about what settings you have got to your washer, then it means you’ll profit from these economies.”

See if you happen to qualify for assist

Anybody who's on advantages or incomes beneath a certain quantity “might be able to entry a social tariff from their present provider, and that may cap or scale back your invoice by as a lot as 90 per cent if you happen to’re on a very low earnings”, says Marsh.

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Anybody who's on advantages or incomes beneath a certain quantity ‘might be able to entry a social tariff from their present provider, and that may cap or scale back your invoice by as a lot as 90 per cent if you happen to’re on a very low earnings’, says Marsh (PA Wire) He says it’s “undoubtedly value talking to your provider” to see if you happen to would possibly qualify, as every firm has a barely completely different set of standards.

For instance, Thames Water has the WaterHelp scheme. These whose invoice is greater than 5 per cent of their internet earnings are eligible (that is additionally depending on the variety of occupants in your family), and will get a 50 per cent low cost on their water invoice.

For Northumbrian Water, you might be eligible if in case you have a complete family earnings of £30,000, and your annual water and sewerage invoice is greater than 4 per cent of your internet family earnings (after housing prices, hire or mortgage funds), or if somebody in your family receives Pension Credit score, and your annual water and sewerage invoice is 4 per cent or extra of your internet family earnings.

These eligible might see their water payments decreased by as much as 50 per cent.

Equally, Southern Water has a number of schemes obtainable for these scuffling with their payments – test on-line to see what would possibly be just right for you.

In the end, Nicky Chitty, the affordability and vulnerability lead at Southern Water, says: “There’s heaps that we might help individuals with. My major message for any individual that wants some help is simply attain out to whoever their provider is. There will likely be help there for them.”

Scale back water utilization

Significantly if you happen to’re on a sensible meter, decreasing your water utilization is the “apparent reply” for getting payments down, says Marsh, even when “it’s not at all times the enjoyable reply”.

In accordance with Daniel Lintell, sustainability supervisor at Triton Showers, “Small behaviour adjustments” can have a huge effect, as a result of “each drop makes a distinction”.

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In accordance with the federal government’s Atmosphere Company, solely 12 per cent of properties in England have good water meters put in (PA Wire) “Showering accounts for in all probability 1 / 4 of a typical family’s water utilization,” he suggests. “So extra environment friendly showering goes to cut back your water consumption – and one of many key further advantages of decreasing your water utilization of showering is you’re going to convey down your power prices fairly significantly,” since you don’t have to warmth up fairly a lot water.

Whereas shorter showers will make a distinction, there are additionally different issues you are able to do, Lintell says – equivalent to not operating your bathe for ages to ‘heat up’ earlier than hopping in.

“You don’t have to run it for minutes and minutes and minutes – it’s wasted time, it’s wasted power and it’s wasted water.”

He provides: “When you’ve acquired a mixer bathe, take into account pausing your bathe while you’re shampooing. Lots of people get their hair moist, put the shampoo in, step away, and depart the bathe operating.”

You might additionally have a look at investing in a circulate regulator to cut back the circulate charge of your bathe, thus utilizing much less water, with Lintell saying: “You in all probability won't discover the distinction from an expertise viewpoint.”

Exterior of the bathe, Lintell recommends utilizing the eco mode on home equipment just like the dishwasher or washer.

“That’s what they’re there for. The engineers have spent years creating them, caring about each single drop, optimising it – so let the machine do the be just right for you.”