Water bills in North Somerset could increase by more than a quarter in the next seven years.

Utility firms had to provide their planned increases for the period from 2010-2015 to water regulator Ofwat this week.

If Bristol Water gets its way, average household bills will increase from £148 in 2009-10 to £187 in 2014-15. The majority of the increase will be loaded on to the first year, when bills will leap from £148 to £166, an increase of 13.5 per cent.

The overall increase during the five-year period, if Ofwat approves the firm's business plan, will be 26 per cent or an average of 5.2 per cent per year.

Bristol Water also had to provide the regulator details of how it will improve services and invest in infrastructure during the period.

It said it plans to invest £318 million over five years to ensure water quality continues improving, to meet growing demand from a rising population and to replace aging pipelines.

Source: Clevedon Mercury

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