Your water and waste water bill covers the costs of treating and delivering your water supply, as well as maintaining the network that collects and treats waste water.
There are three main elements to your water charges: water, waste water and drainage. In addition, some businesses also pay for the handling of trade effluent.
This covers the provision of a clean, fresh water supply. If you have a water meter, the charge is based on your recorded water use; if you have an unmetered supply, it’s based on the rateable value of your property.
As well as the fixed charge for the meter, this charge is for cleaning and treating the water that goes down your drains. Again, it’s worked out differently depending on whether you are a metered or unmetered customer.
This charge covers the cost of collecting and treating rainwater, and bringing it back into the supply system. It’s made up of two elements:
Both elements are calculated according to the rateable value of your property.
If your business has a trade effluent consent, you’ll receive a separate bill for this. It covers the cost of treating and disposing of what can be harmful waste.
Water charges change each year and the maximum price we can charge is set by our regulator. You can also read our full charging statement here. [386 KB | PDF]
For both water and waste water services, you’re charged a fixed rate and a volume-based rate. Together with charges for property and roads drainage, that makes six bill elements in total:
Cut your water bills by taking advantage of our discounts and offers.
There are lots of ways to slash your charges by controlling your water use – from simple water-saving devices to automated meter reading. Read more on water efficiency.