The average household water bill in England and Wales is likely to reach £2,000 per year by 2050 if supplies are to be maintained, the industry regulator has said.
Ofwat issued the warning as part of its submission to the Government-commissioned water inquiry, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe.
The regulator warned that “significant investment” was needed to secure enough water and avoid the country running out.
Its submission reads: “The challenges are pressing; a growing population, climate change and heightened concerns about the impact of abstraction on river health could result in a shortfall of five billion litres of water a day by 2050. It is estimated that around £270bn needs to be invested over the next 25 years, alongside £50bn on 30 new major projects, to address this shortfall and achieve environmental objectives. This will ultimately have to be paid for by customers, who will only support this level of investment if they can trust the sector to deliver value for money.
“Significant investment is needed to provide for these new sources of water, as well as to improve river water quality standards, to help meet net zero and for other improvements to the network. The additional investment could mean average bills reach over £1,000 by 2050, before inflation (and around £2,000 including expected impact of inflation).”
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Water companies are currently the subject of some heavy criticism. Water bills are set to rise by an average of £123 this year – with further increases over the next four years.
Last month a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that trust in water companies is at an all-time low, while Sun Life warned that rising water bills could force retirees back to work.
