Kent's water bills set to rise by up to £200

The change is meant to provide the water services with more money to fix sewage issues and infrastructure supply problems. Finn Macdiarmid reports.

Transcript

00:00I think they should stop paying the shareholders so much instead of putting it at the prices

00:04for normal people that are struggling already.

00:06I don't think we should have it because obviously the meters are supposed to help us save it

00:10and everything, but if the money's going up again, what's the point of having the meter?

00:13I think it's absolutely disgusting because people, you know, that are on low wages or

00:18unemployed just can't afford this sort of thing, you know, and with everything being

00:22the way it is, it's absolutely disgusting.

00:26This is the reaction of people in Gillingham after being told their water bills could go

00:30up by more than £200 by 2029.

00:33The announcement comes after years of concern over water pipeline issues and sewage discharges

00:38across Kent's coast and rivers, with the idea that the increase will prop up the financially

00:43struggling water companies and allow for positive change to the service.

00:46This includes improvements to the environment with an aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

00:50by 8%, as well as improving the service by reducing leakage, investing £25 million in

00:55its metering programme and an 89% reduction in water supply interruptions.

01:00In coastal areas like Thanet, the sewage issue is particularly important.

01:05One of the reasons why these bills are going up is because the shareholders are taking

01:09their dividends and the companies are sacking up their profits and taking that money off

01:14bill payers who are having to pay the pay for the failures of over a decade or so of

01:22mismanagement by the companies because they have not been investing in the infrastructure.

01:26So the money we pay will be going towards investing in that infrastructure.

01:30It's just a pity they haven't been doing that themselves with their own money for the

01:34last decade or so, so we have the infrastructure that we need so we don't end up with more

01:39sewage being dumped in our seas.

01:41It's being called Ofwat's final determination, as the regulator had the final say on how

01:46much the bills would go up.

01:48In a statement, Southern Water's CEO Lawrence Godson said,

02:08Southern Water had put in a request for an 84% bill hike over the next five years, so

02:13obviously that's been tempered down slightly by Ofwat.

02:16However, these bill increases are outrageous and it's just another symbol of the failure

02:22of privatisation.

02:24Different areas of Kent are under the jurisdiction of separate companies, so while Gillingham

02:28will see their water bills go up to £642, areas under South East Water will only be

02:34hit with a projected £55 increase.

02:36But no matter the rate, the increase can have a significant effect on people's finances,

02:41especially during the cost-of-living crisis.

02:43Finn McDermid for KMTV