Average Scottish Household Water Bill to Increase by £42 from April 2026

23rd January 2026

The Board of Scottish Water has announced that household water and waste water bills will rise by an average of £42 per year from 1st April 2026 - an increase of around £3.50 a month.

The change will take the average annual charge in Scotland to £532, which remains among the lowest of any water company in the UK. The increase represents an 8.67% rise, in line with limits set by the independent economic regulator, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS).

The funding will enable publicly-owned Scottish Water to maintain essential services for more than five million people and support investment to upgrade infrastructure.

Water bills up by £42 a year (around £3.50 a month)
Average annual charge: £532; among the lowest in the UK.

Around 53% of households receiving bill cost support
Why the Increase?

The rise is needed to maintain services and invest in essential infrastructure such as water pipes and treatment works.

Scotland's water and waste water system is facing increasing pressure including more extreme weather and growing demand.

Recent challenges include Scotland's driest start to the year in six decades and an increase in repairs as older infrastructure comes to the end of its operational life.

Alex Plant, Scottish Water Chief Executive, said: "We understand any rise is unwelcome, but as a publicly owned organisation every penny our customers pay goes into improving services for people in Scotland - from tackling ageing pipes, to responding to ever more extreme weather, to enabling new homes to be built. We know that sustainable investment now protects customers from higher costs in the future."

Support for Households
Scotland has one of the most comprehensive support schemes in the UK, with more than half of households receiving help with water charges. Most homes pay through their Council Tax bill.

England

What's happening to water bills from April 2026

Average household water bill big increase front-loaded this April (2026)
Households in England and Wales are set to see a significant rise in their water and wastewater bills from 1 April 2026, following decisions by the industry regulator Ofwat and individual water companies. The typical average bill increase for the year is around:

£86 increase in the next year (around a 20% rise) - average household on standard charges.

This rise is part of a multi-year price plan where further increases are expected smaller in subsequent years.

Long-term rises over the next five years
Regulator Ofwat has allowed water companies to fund a £104 billion upgrade of infrastructure, which means average water bills are expected to continue rising over the next five years:

Bills could climb by about £31 a year on average across 2026–2030, totalling around £597 by 2030 (before inflation).

What this means in practice

The front-loaded nature of the increases means 2026/27 sees a larger hike than what’s typical later in the plan.

The exact increase varies greatly by company and by whether you have a water meter or are billed unmetered (e.g., based on your property’s rateable value).

Some large suppliers (e.g., Southern Water, Thames Water, United Utilities) have previously faced much larger percentage increases – though specific figures for April 2026 vary by region and tariff.

Why bills are rising

Water companies and the regulator say the increases are needed to:

Improve infrastructure, reduce leaks and storm overflows.

Clean up sewage discharges and protect the environment.

Ensure long-term water supply resilience amid climate and population pressures.

Support for households

Most water companies now offer affordability support programs, including:

Social tariffs for those on low incomes.

WaterSure and other payment support options.

Thames Water

Here’s the **latest on how much your **water bill from Thames Water is set to change from April 2026 in England (based on the current regulatory price review and company plans):

Bill increases from April 2026

For the 2025-26 billing year (which runs from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026), Thames Water customers saw a large rise in their annual bills – about 31% higher on average compared with the previous year. That took the typical combined water and wastewater bill from £488 in 2024-25 to around £639 in 2025-26 – a rise of about £151 a year.

That equates roughly to an extra £15-£20 per month on average – though exact increases vary depending on whether you’re on a meter or an unmetered/assessed charge.

For the upcoming 2026-27 billing year (from 1 April 2026 onward), Thames Water has published its Statement of Significant Change for charges indicating further price increases, driven by the allowed revenue set by the regulator Ofwat as part of the PR24 price review (for 2025-2030).

Importantly, Thames Water has stated its plan is to limit the overall percentage increases for 2026-27 to below about 5% for most household customers – a much smaller rise than the jump seen for 2025-26.

This reflects a smoothing of increases across the 2025-2030 period instead of front-loading all the hikes in 2025/26.

Why the increases vary year to year

Water companies like Thames Water are operating under Ofwat’s PR24 final determination, which sets the allowed revenue and shapes how much they can recover from customers over 2025-2030 to pay for infrastructure upgrades and environmental improvements. Thames Water’s plan overall allows an average bill rise of about £152 (35%) by 2029-30 versus 2024-25, before inflation.

Most of the big increase already hit in April 2025 (for the 2025-26 billing year), with smaller increases planned in 2026-27 and beyond.

What this means

If you’re a typical Thames Water household:
2025-26 bill (current year): £639 on average (£151 higher than last year).

2026-27 bill (from April 2026): likely a much smaller further increase (around