Public anger over water bill rises is justified, says UK environment secretary
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‘Complete reset’ of water industry needed in face of poor service, pollution and leaks, says Steve Reed. Public anger over a significant increase in water bills to be unveiled this week will be justified, the environment secretary has warned, as households across England and Wales are forced to pay for a “catastrophic failure” of underinvestment and toothless regulation.
![[Raw sewage discharges]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8996e87006a4d185798d4cc3517ce34eb7ae242c/0_140_4188_2513/master/4188.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
With the government braced for a backlash over the increases, Steve Reed told the Observer that a widespread “failure of regulation and governance” was to blame for bill rises expected to average at least 21% over the next five years. He said a “complete reset” of the water industry was needed in the face of poor service, polluted waterways and persistent leaks.
The water industry regulator Ofwat has already warned that the increases are needed to pay for improvements. However, a concerted push by water companies could mean that bills rise by even more than the £94 over five years that Ofwat signalled in the summer. They have been pushing for an average increase of 40%, pushing bills to £615 a year by 2030.
Amid warnings that the hike could hit many families already in financial distress, Reed said he was now doing everything he could to fix a broken and discredited system to stop similar price rises happening again. “No one wants to see these bills rise,” he said. “I share people’s anger that this will be happening. We don’t know what the final figure will be, but the higher bills people will be seeing are because of the Conservatives’ failure over the last 14 years to invest in improving the water infrastructure.
