Water Bill Sewerage Standing Charge Doubled 8 January 2022 at 9:24AM edited 8 January 2022 at 9:34AM in Water bills 13 replies 280 views

marc-h_2

The yearly standing charges for sewerage charged by Severn Trent has more than doubled this year from £16.23 to £33.23. This doesn't include surface water drainage as I don't pay that. This has come from an increase in highway drianage from £5 to £12 a year and used water standing charge from £11.23 to £21.23. I can't find anything explaining why there is such a large increase. Has anyone else seen anything? I initially assumed my bill was wrong but I've checked their published customer charges and it's correct. The price changed in April 2021. I've tried asking Severn Trent the reason but can't get anything other than stock answers about rises for inflation.

Cardew

I am with Severn Trent.

My assumption is that the increase in standing charges for sewerage is because the usage charge for waste water(sewerage) has only increased in 2021/22 by  0.4%(from 97.94p to 98.32p/m3.)  Fresh water has increased by  1.6%

All water companies have their revenue capped by Ofwat; which is independantly audited, but it is my understanding that water companies can alter their charging structure as long as they remain within that capped figure.

This document explains their increases.

https://www.stwater.co.uk/content/dam/stw/my-account/our-charges/2021/jan-statement-of-indicative-changes-st-hh-21-22.pdf

booshya

Anglian Water currently charges £87 pa standing charge (which presumably includes highway drainage) and £1.5655 per m3 (but that is based on only 90% of measured water usage, so just over £1.40 per m3 if it was based on 100% of measured water usage)

Sounds like you are on a bargain basement price with ST, even with the increase

When will we be able to ditch and switch our water/sewerage suppliers like we can with energy?

Coffeekup

booshya said:

Anglian Water currently charges £87 pa standing charge (which presumably includes highway drainage) and £1.5655 per m3 (but that is based on only 90% of measured water usage)

Sounds like you are on a bargain basement price with ST, even with the increase

When will we be able to ditch and switch our water/sewerage suppliers like we can with energy?

Yup AW payer here too, when I look at other people's SOA, and they pay £20-30 a month for there monthly DD, I shake my head in disbelief.

Cardew

Coffeekup said:

booshya said:

Anglian Water currently charges £87 pa standing charge (which presumably includes highway drainage) and £1.5655 per m3 (but that is based on only 90% of measured water usage)

Sounds like you are on a bargain basement price with ST, even with the increase

When will we be able to ditch and switch our water/sewerage suppliers like we can with energy?

Yup AW payer here too, when I look at other people's SOA, and they pay £20-30 a month for there monthly DD, I shake my head in disbelief.

The link below gives the average charge for all companies in UK

deleted

The average is £408pa

Lowest is Welsh Water - £324

Highest is South West Water £483

Anglian Water is £422

If you scroll down further you can find details of standing charges and charges for water and sewerage per M3 or rateable Value(RV) so if you want to compare prices for a specific water consumprtion or RV you can do some arithmetic - but it is long winded.

Edit Link deleted as now showing as risky.

Merlin139

I am with Yorkshire Water and my Quarterly SC is:

£7.08 for Water
£2.55 for Sewerage

So £38.52 a year.

Water is £1.4244 per m3

Sewerage is charged at £1.8272 per m3 (based on 95% of measured water usage)

We use around 85 m3 per year so pay around £28 per month. 

booshya

Cardew said:

Coffeekup said:

booshya said:

Anglian Water currently charges £87 pa standing charge (which presumably includes highway drainage) and £1.5655 per m3 (but that is based on only 90% of measured water usage)

Sounds like you are on a bargain basement price with ST, even with the increase

When will we be able to ditch and switch our water/sewerage suppliers like we can with energy?

Yup AW payer here too, when I look at other people's SOA, and they pay £20-30 a month for there monthly DD, I shake my head in disbelief.

The link below gives the average charge for all companies in UK

https://discoverwater.co.uk/annual-bill

The average is £408pa

Lowest is Welsh Water - £324

Highest is South West Water £483

Anglian Water is £422

If you scroll down further you can find details of standing charges and charges for water and sewerage per M3 or rateable Value(RV) so if you want to compare prices for a specific water consumprtion or RV you can do some arithmetic - but it is long winded.

Looks like you may have attempted to link to a dodgy website there.
Not only because


But I'm not sure where they get the figure of £422 for Anglian Water.

If that were correct, based upon the prices I gave previously, that would assume an average property uses about 240m3 of water per year. That would be about 50% more than the figures usually thought appropriate for an average property with 4 inhabitants; even with 6 inhabitants an average property typically only consumes about 200m3 per year according to Southern Water
https://www.southernwater.co.uk/account/water-usage-guide

Cardew

booshya said:

Cardew said:

Coffeekup said:

booshya said:

Anglian Water currently charges £87 pa standing charge (which presumably includes highway drainage) and £1.5655 per m3 (but that is based on only 90% of measured water usage)

Sounds like you are on a bargain basement price with ST, even with the increase

When will we be able to ditch and switch our water/sewerage suppliers like we can with energy?

Yup AW payer here too, when I look at other people's SOA, and they pay £20-30 a month for there monthly DD, I shake my head in disbelief.

The link below gives the average charge for all companies in UK

deleted

The average is £408pa

Lowest is Welsh Water - £324

Highest is South West Water £483

Anglian Water is £422

If you scroll down further you can find details of standing charges and charges for water and sewerage per M3 or rateable Value(RV) so if you want to compare prices for a specific water consumprtion or RV you can do some arithmetic - but it is long winded.

Looks like you may have attempted to link to a dodgy website there.
Not only because


But I'm not sure where they get the figure of £422 for Anglian Water.

If that were correct, based upon the prices I gave previously, that would assume an average property uses about 240m3 of water per year. That would be about 50% more than the figures usually thought appropriate for an average property with 4 inhabitants; even with 6 inhabitants an average property typically only consumes about 200m3 per year according to Southern Water
https://www.southernwater.co.uk/account/water-usage-guide

Thanks for this. I have used that website before and obviously it didn't show as being risky. However it now shows as dodgy for me so I have deleleted it from my earlier post. Although I can't think why a website giving water prices in UK would be risky.

The prices quoted(i.e Anglian £422) were for water and sewerage. and an average charge which could include RV based charges

Thus for 240m3 the cost in the Anglian area would be £841 to £870 (depending on sewerage charges)

Depending on sewerage arangements £422 in the Anglian area would equate to a little over 100m3.

booshya

Thanks for the above explanation

The prices I initially mentioned for AW were sewerage only, as that was the subject matter the OP had raised.
(and obviously only based upon a metered property, as that was what I presumed the OP has)

I know someone who lives in Gloucester (so very close to the River Severn) and lives in a 3 bed-semi. They paid £358.29 in total for combined water and sewerage on an unmetered basis.

SouthernWater, for metered properties, charge the following annual standing charges for sewerage only:

Wastewater:     £23.81
Surface water drainage:     £21.60   
Highway drainage     £10.80

But they also charge a whopping £2.045 / m3

https://www.southernwater.co.uk/account/how-we-calculate-your-bill

QrizB

Cardew said:

booshya said:

Looks like you may have attempted to link to a dodgy website there.
Not only because


But I'm not sure where they get the figure of £422 for Anglian Water.

If that were correct, based upon the prices I gave previously, that would assume an average property uses about 240m3 of water per year. That would be about 50% more than the figures usually thought appropriate for an average property with 4 inhabitants; even with 6 inhabitants an average property typically only consumes about 200m3 per year according to Southern Water
https://www.southernwater.co.uk/account/water-usage-guide

Thanks for this. I have used that website before and obviously it didn't show as being risky. However it now shows as dodgy for me so I have deleleted it from my earlier post. Although I can't think why a website giving water prices in UK would be risky.

The problem is only that the website's encryption certificate expired over the weekend. Not unusual for small organisations (or big ones, for that matter).

Cardew

booshya said:

Thanks for the above explanation

The prices I initially mentioned for AW were sewerage only, as that was the subject matter the OP had raised.
(and obviously only based upon a metered property, as that was what I presumed the OP has)

I know someone who lives in Gloucester (so very close to the River Severn) and lives in a 3 bed-semi. They paid £358.29 in total for combined water and sewerage on an unmetered basis.

SouthernWater, for metered properties, charge the following annual standing charges for sewerage only:

Wastewater:     £23.81
Surface water drainage:     £21.60   
Highway drainage     £10.80

But they also charge a whopping £2.045 / m3

https://www.southernwater.co.uk/account/how-we-calculate-your-bill

I had replied to 'coffekup' and quoted their post which is why gave prices for water and sewerage.

Re your post about the 3 bed semi on RV based(i.e. unmetered) charges, I know of a huge 7 bed house in over an acre of grounds that pays water charges of less than £200 pa. This was because it was derelict when the last general revaluation of rateable value occurred some 50 years ago; and as RV was based on the rent it could achieve, it was given a peppercorn RV as obviously it was uninhabitable.

In the 1990's it was completely rebuilt with full planning permission and placed in Band H for Council Tax yet retained its peppercorn RV for water charges. Property was then sold and new owners paid the same low water charges. Once a customer has received bills based on RV they cannot be forced to have a meter - unless in a water conservation area.