Water charges set to rise by 5% as April increase announced

The amount households pay in Scotland for water and waste water services in 2023/24 will rise by an average of 37p per week.

The increase, which is 5 per cent above current charges, will take effect from April, and will as usual be collected alongside council tax.

Around half of households in Scotland already receive financial support as they automatically have either a discount, exemption or reduction applied to their water and waste water charges.

Scottish Water serves 2.6 million households, supplying more than 1.5 billion litres of water and treating in excess of 1 billion litres of used and surface water daily.

Of those, more than 2.5m are connected to the public waste water network while around 150,000 households have private septic tanks.

The charges, which raise about £1 billion annually, support round-the-clock services that bring water to customers’ taps and cleans waste water, returning it safely to the environment.

The company, the fourth largest water and waste water services provider in the UK, has said that further significant increased investment is needed in the coming years to deal with ageing infrastructure and the impacts of the changing climate.

Douglas Millican, Scottish Water chief executive, said the new charges reflect the importance of future investment in the country’s water system.

He said: “Our responsibility as a publicly-funded body is focused on providing excellent service and water quality and reducing our impact on the environment on which we depend.

“The charges for 2023/24 have been set at a level which recognises the need for significant future investment to protect services, and the current economic challenges faced by many.

“Charge levels in the future are likely to rise to meet our strategic objectives, meet the needs of our customers and to transform services so they become as environmentally and financially-sustainable as possible.”

Water and waste water charges to licensed providers who supply businesses and other non-domestic customers will also increase by 5 per cent.