Hi, what can we help you with today?

The charges tariffs will come into effect on 1 April 2026. Customers on a meter will see these new tariffs on their first bill after this date, customers paying unmetered charges will see this on their annual bill for 2026/27.

New bill values are now being displayed on the customers MyAccount.

If you’re an unmetered customer (you don’t have a water meter) then yes, your bill will increase this year.

For metered customers (with a water meter) the water charges have increased. How much you pay depends on how much water you use.

Individual customer bills will vary depending on:
•              Whether you use both the water and wastewater service
•              Whether you’re on a support tariff 
•              The rateable value of your house if you’re not on a meter, or
•              The amount of water you use if you have a meter.

View our tariffs here: www.southwestwater.co.uk/your-bill-explained.

We’re investing £2.5bn to upgrade the South West Water network.

This will:

• Continue to protect the natural environment
• Future proof the network is ready for climate and population challenges

Our action on storm overflows, combined with lower rainfall this year, reduced spills by 17% this year compared to last year (pollution incidents also halved in the eight months to August 2025). 

Our plans include: 

• £760m spending to reduce storm overflow use
• Meeting the government target of 10 spills per overflow, per year by 2030 (a decade early)
• Investment to ensure network reliability and reduce the risk of problems

Prices are increasing because we have promised to invest based on what you, our customers have told us are your priorities. Record investment to improve our network is planned and delivered over several years. Full replacement of infrastructure cannot happen immediately due to the scale of work and the time required to complete it.

Many projects focus on upgrading or expanding existing assets rather than replacing entire networks, as this approach is faster and more cost-effective.
To keep the network running efficiently, we may need to carry out patch repairs at times. Full replacement of assets such as mains pipes usually needs to be planned well in advance to allow for local authority permissions, resourcing, road closures and so on.

Every five years, Ofwat reviews how much funding water companies need to deliver essential improvements for customers and the environment. This is based on each company’s plans  that includes securing future water supplies, improving water quality, reducing storm overflows, protecting the environment, and keeping bills affordable.

As part of this process, Ofwat also sets how customer bills may change, making sure the level of investment is fair and focused on delivering these priorities.

Our business plan that Ofwat approved, includes how we are phasing bill increases across the five years. However, customer bills are also impacted by inflation (CPIH), which is applied annually and can vary from year to year. This means that while the planned increases are spread over time, overall bill changes may still differ each year due to inflation.

Every five years we calculate the cost of providing an efficient services to keep taps running and toilets flushing, including the cost of investment for the future to make sure we can meet our environmental and social obligations. 

We then consider the numbers and types of customers we serve and submit our proposals for recovering these costs through the prices we charge to Ofwat, the economic regulator of the water industry. 

Ofwat review our proposals and sets the price, investment and service package customers receive. They set the price control for companies every five years and companies must stay within these price controls.

Our investment programme is already showing positive results – storm overflow spills have reduced compared to last year and pollution incidents halved in the eight months to August 2025.

We are on track to complete our investment programme across the South West by 2030, focusing on four key priorities:

• Reliable safe water supplies - reducing leakage on networks to less than 10%
• Healthier rivers and seas - Tackling every storm overflow and limiting spills
• Action on climate change - Achieving Net Zero by 2030
• Largest ever support measures for customers who are struggling

If you’re worried about your water bill, get in touch. We have a range of support measures and can take you through your options. 
 
Firstly, if you are not on a meter, consider having one installed. Customers who switch save around £450 to £550 a year on average.  We install meters free of charge and if you don’t save money, you can switch back within the first two years and we’ll refund the difference.
 
Support schemes include:

• WaterSure tariff – For customers on certain benefits, who use a lot of water as they either have a large family or someone in their household with a medical condition means they need to use more water. Customers need to have a water meter.
• WaterCare tariff – Designed to assist the lowest-income households in our region by reducing their bills to an amount they are more likely to be able to pay
• WaterCare+ – Includes free energy audits and advice on claiming grants
• FreshStart – Helps customers who are new to debt and are dealing with an extraordinary life event resulting in sudden loss of income
• Flexible payment plans – to suit customers’ earning patterns
• WaterDirect – An arrangement that allows payments to be made directly from certain benefits

You can check if you are eligible for financial support here.

If you're not already on a meter - one of the ways we can help is by offering you a water meter, so you only pay for the water you use. It also puts you in control of your water use so you can take steps to reduce your bill. Because we are confident that you’ll save money on a meter, you’ll automatically be given our Lowest Bill Guarantee. If you don’t save money in the first two years after your meter is installed, we’ll refund the difference between your metered and unmetered bill, and you can switch back at any time.

You can apply for a water meter online. If you’re currently applying for any means-tested benefits, please let us know and we can put your account on hold until your application is complete. For any other help, please visit our water meter page.

If you are already on a meter. You can also save money by saving water. To help you do this we offer free water saving devise that can be installed around the home that can impact customers waters bill by reducing consumption. Visit more: www.southwestwater.co.uk/save-water

Sharing our success: WaterShare+ is our way of sharing rewards with customers when our performance is better than the targets agreed with our customers and our regulators.

c.80,000 customers became shareholders in South West Water’s parent company, the Pennon Group PLC – bringing in a new era in customer ownership.

The scheme operated for a second time at the end of 2022.  Those eligible customers who didn’t opt to take shares were automatically given a £13 credit on their bill.

If we continue to outperform our business plan, we will continue to share benefits with our customers under WaterShare+.

A greater say: A WaterShare+ Panel has been established to champion the interests of our customers by providing independent review on elements of our business plan commitments and Board Pledges.  You can find out more about the Panel on our website, where we’ll also keep you up-to-date with details of forthcoming meetings including how you can get involved and have a greater say: www.southwestwater.co.uk/watershareplus