Increased bills to go into water investment programme

YORKSHIRE Water has defended its raising of household bills claiming the extra charges will help to fund a £329m investment programme.

The pledge comes as it was revealed yesterday that the average household water and sewerage bill will go up by 3.5% from April 1.

Yorkshire Water is to raise its average bill by £12 a year, meaning on average customers will pay £368 a year.

Some of the investments Yorkshire Water is making include £120m to help reduce the risk of sewer flooding through improvements to the company’s sewer network and waste water treatment facilities; £110m to help improve bathing water quality along Yorkshire’s coast; and £78m to improve its Blackburn Meadows waste water treatment works in Sheffield.

Richard Flint, Yorkshire Water’s chief executive, said: “We know that things are really tough out there, with a lot of people really feeling the pinch, which is why it’s so important that essential service providers like ourselves explain exactly why price increases are necessary and just what they will finance.

“A significant part of this rise is down to inflation, and the fact that the price of many of the products and services we use as a company has risen. The remainder of the increase will be used to fund our ongoing investment in the region – £376m over the next 12 months.”