Water bills are up again - and £190 off yours could be going unclaimed

Five water companies have been told they can charge customers more.

Ofwat, the water regulator, has said that five of the 13 suppliers in England and Wales can raise charges to pay for an extra £3.4bn of work. The companies are Thames Water, Severn Trent Water, Southern Water, Wessex Water and South East Water, and the rises would apply to bills between 2027 and 2030.

Ofwat hasn't signed this off yet. It's asking for views until 24 September and will make its final decision in December, so the numbers could still change.

But for millions of households it's clear that water is going to cost more.

How much have bills gone up already?

The average water bill in England and Wales is now £639 a year, or around £53 a month. That's after a rise of £33 in April.

The year before that, bills jumped by £123 in one go.

Ofwat sets a limit on what water companies can charge over five years. The current limit runs to 2030 and last April's £123 rise was the first and biggest chunk of it.

There was another decision back in March, when a panel of experts ruled on five companies that had challenged that limit. Their customers face an extra 2.2% on top of the rises already planned.

Are more people falling behind?

Around 2.85 million households in England and Wales are behind on their water bills. That's roughly 1 in 10.

Between them, those households owe £2.12bn. Most people who fall behind don't have a repayment plan set up, which is how the debt keeps growing.

There are another 1.1 million people who've moved away from their old water company but still owe it money.

Water debt builds up quietly, because the bill doesn't come as often as other bills and nothing obvious happens when you miss one. And that's exactly how it grows.

Can your water be cut off if you don't pay?

Water companies in England and Wales are not allowed to cut off your water because you haven't paid.

That doesn't mean the debt disappears. Your water company can pass your account to a debt collection agency, and it can take you to court. If a judge orders you to pay and you don't, that goes on your credit record and can make it harder to get a mortgage, a phone contract or a loan for the next six years.

But nobody is going to turn your water off.

What help can you get from your water company?

You can get more help from water companies than most people realise, and a lot of it goes unclaimed.

Every water company runs a social tariff, which is a cheaper bill for customers on a low income. Nearly 2 million households were on one last year and their bills were cut by an average of £190. Every company sets its own rules about who can get it, so you need to check with yours.

There's also WaterSure. This caps your bill at the average for your area if you have a water meter, claim certain benefits, and either have a large family or a medical condition that means you use more water, such as kidney disease or a skin condition that needs frequent washing. Around 260,800 households get it.

WaterDirect takes payments towards what you owe straight out of your benefits, so the debt comes down without you having to remember to pay it.

Plenty of companies also offer payment breaks. Some run matching schemes, where they knock a pound off your debt for every pound you pay.

Only around half of customers know this help exists. So a lot of people are paying full price when they might not have to.

Would a water meter cut your bill?

It might. Almost 65% of homes already have one, and if you've got more bedrooms than people living in your house, a meter often works out cheaper.

Unless you live in an area where you have to have a meter, you can try one for up to two years and switch back if you end up paying more. The Consumer Council for Water has a calculator that gives you an idea before you decide.

What to do if you're worried

Ring your water company before you miss a payment rather than after. They can only put you on a social tariff or set up a payment plan if they know what's going on, and the sooner you tell them, the more they can do.

If water is one of several bills you're struggling with, it helps to look at everything together rather than one bill at a time. Working out what's coming in and what's going