The average household water and sewerage bill in England and Wales for 2017-18 will be £395 - an increase of £6 (2%) compared with the previous year.

The prices for 2017-18 are in line with the 5-year plans developed by every water and sewerage company after extensive consultation with customers, and confirmed by the industry regulator Ofwat in 2014.

The plans will see companies deliver a 5% average drop in real terms in prices between 2015-2020. Over that period, water and sewerage companies will also invest £44 billion in better services, greater resilience and environmental improvements. Their targets include:

• saving 370 million litres of water a day by tackling leakage and promoting efficiency
• 32% reduction in the time interruptions affect the supply of water
• 33% fewer properties flooded by wastewater from sewers

The water companies are continuing to increase the support for customers needing help with their bills. It is expected that companies will have assisted around 1.8 million customers by the end of the decade.

Almost all water companies now have social tariffs in place, which help reduce the bills of low-income households, sometimes by as much as 90 per cent.

All water companies provide a package of other measures worth more than £40 million a year to support customers who are struggling to pay or in debt, including working with partners to provide debt and financial advice.

Michael Roberts, Water UK Chief Executive, said:

"Water companies are fully committed to delivering great customer service and keeping household bills as low as possible. This year, details on bills in England and Wales are being published alongside information on how water companies are performing.”

"We hope this will both inform the on-going conversations about priorities between companies and their customers, and provide a signpost to the help available from each water company for those households who genuinely struggle to pay."