Water bills are rising by an average of 26% – or £123 – in the next financial year, enraging customers and politicians alike.

Water UK, which represents firms across the industry, has confirmed that increasing will kick in from April 1 at the start of a new five-year pricing period.

It means bills will increase dramatically from 2025 to 2030, with regulator Ofwat’s approval.

In this year alone, the average bill will go up from £480 to £603, around £10 a month, even as consumers grapple with energy bills hikes and council tax rises.

Different suppliers are charging by slightly different amounts, though – Southern Water will see the largest increase, hiking its costs up by 47%, the average cost coming to £703.

Water under Welsh company Hafren Dyfredwy will go up by 32% in price, while Thames Water is increasing its costs by 21%, South West Water by 22% and Yorkshire Water by 29%.

Suppliers had wanted to take bills even higher to support infrastructure upgrades like storm overflows but Ofwat had prevented them. However, the increase is still higher than expected.

Water UK chief David Henderson justified the hike by explaining that “we urgently need investment in our water and sewage infrastructure”, and promising water companies will invest a record £20bn in 2025-26 to back economic growth, new homes, secure water supplies and end sewage leakage.

The news has, understandably, not gone down well.

The Liberal Democrats’ Environment spokesperson Tim Farron said the increase was “absolutely scandalous”.

He said: “Customers will now have to pay through the nose for the shocking failings of water companies. The whole thing stinks.

“The government has gone nowhere near far enough in clamping down on these greedy firms and protecting people’s pockets from them.

“Their Water Bill has a gaping hole in it after failing to back a Liberal Democrat amendment which would have ensured that creditors, not bill payers would front up the cost of bailing out these broken companies.

“Ministers have to realise this endless cycle of failure and customers paying for it will continue until Ofwat is ripped up and replaced by a new regulator that will clamp down on these firms once and for all.”

Labour backbencher Clive Lewis wrote on X that the increase was meant to fund an “ambitious £104bn investment plan” – but added: “Weren’t our bills for the last 30 years meant to pay for investment?”

Social media was just as enraged – especially as more than half of water and sewage companies gave their executives six-figure bonuses last year.

...although some social media users did exaggerate for effect (the UK does not have the highest water bills in the world)....

... but most were furious that one of life’s essentials