🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Water Bill Calculator

Estimate your UK water and sewerage bill for 2025/26. Compare metered vs unmetered charges across 11 regional water companies, find out if a meter would save you money, and discover simple ways to reduce your bill.

Select your water and sewerage provider
Check your bill or ask your water company
people
UK average: 2.4 people per household
--

Try another scenario

How to Use This Calculator

My Water Bill tab

Select your water company from the dropdown (there are 11 companies covering England, Wales, and Scotland). Choose whether you are on a metered or unmetered bill. For metered customers, enter the number of people in your household or your actual usage in cubic metres per year. For unmetered customers, enter your property's rateable value (found on your water bill). The calculator shows your annual water supply, sewerage, and standing charges.

Metered vs Unmetered tab

Enter your rateable value, number of occupants, and property type. The calculator compares both billing methods side by side and recommends which is cheaper for your situation. As a rule of thumb, if the number of bedrooms exceeds the number of people living in the property, a meter usually saves money.

Reduce Your Bill tab

Enter your current annual water bill and household size. The calculator estimates annual savings for 10 water-saving measures — from free changes (shorter showers, turning off taps) to small investments (water butts, efficient showerheads). It also shows WaterSure eligibility information for families on benefits with medical needs or 3+ children.

Share your result

Every input is encoded in the URL. Click Share to send your exact scenario to someone, or save it for later.

The Formula

Your water bill is calculated differently depending on whether you have a water meter:

Metered bill:
Water supply = (Usage in m³ × Water rate per m³) + Annual standing charge

Sewerage = (Usage in m³ × 0.95 × Sewerage rate per m³) + Annual standing charge

Total annual bill = Water supply + Sewerage

Unmetered bill:
Water supply = Rateable value × Water poundage rate

Sewerage = Rateable value × Sewerage poundage rate

Total annual bill = Water supply + Sewerage

Usage conversion:
m³/year = People × Litres/person/day × 365 ÷ 1,000

For metered customers, the sewerage charge is applied to 95% of the metered water supply. The assumption is that 5% of water is used outdoors (gardens, car washing) and does not enter the sewerage system.

For unmetered customers, the charge is based on the rateable value (RV) of your property. Rateable values were set in 1990 and have not been updated since. The water company multiplies your RV by a pence-in-the-pound rate to calculate your bill.

Both metered and unmetered customers also pay standing charges — fixed annual amounts that cover the cost of maintaining the water network, regardless of usage.

Example

James — Accountant, 38, Birmingham (Severn Trent Water)

James lives in a 3-bedroom semi-detached house with his partner. They are on a water meter and use a typical amount of water.

My Water Bill tab

Water companySevern Trent Water
Billing methodMetered
People in household2
Estimated annual usage106 m³ (2 × 145 litres × 365 ÷ 1,000)
Water supply volume£210.10 (106 m³ × £1.9821)
Water standing charge£52.56
Sewerage volume£190.65 (106 × 0.95 × £1.8934)
Sewerage standing charge£48.12
Total annual bill£501
Monthly cost£41.78

James's bill is £102 below the national average of £603. This is because he has a water meter and only 2 people in the household.

Metered vs Unmetered tab

If James's property has a rateable value of £250, his unmetered bill would be approximately £516. With a meter, he pays £501 — saving £15/year. The saving is modest because there are only 2 occupants, but it grows significantly if the RV is higher or usage is below average.

FAQ

The average combined water and sewerage bill in England and Wales for 2025/26 is £603 per year (£50.25/month), according to Water UK and Ofwat. This represents an increase of approximately £123 (26%) from the 2024/25 average of £480. The increase follows Ofwat's PR24 price review, which sets prices for the 2025–2030 period. Bills vary significantly by region: Northumbrian Water customers pay the least (average £495) while Southern Water customers pay the most (average £703).
A water meter typically saves money if the number of people in your home is less than the number of bedrooms. For example, a couple in a 3-bedroom house will almost certainly save with a meter. Large families in small properties may pay more with a meter. You have the legal right to request a free water meter installation from your water company. Most companies offer a 2-year trial period — if the meter does not save you money, you can usually switch back to unmetered billing. Use the "Metered vs Unmetered" tab to compare for your specific situation.
WaterSure is a government scheme that caps your metered water bill at the average household bill for your water company. To qualify, you must be on a water meter AND meet two criteria: (1) you or someone in your household receives a qualifying benefit (Universal Credit, Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, or Child Tax Credit), and (2) either you have 3 or more children under 19 living at home, or someone in the household has a medical condition requiring extra water. Contact your water company to apply. In Scotland, Scottish Water offers a similar scheme called "Capped Charges."
Your rateable value (RV) is shown on your water bill if you are an unmetered customer. You can also contact your water company to ask. Rateable values were set by the Valuation Office Agency in 1990 (when domestic rates were replaced by council tax) and have been frozen since. They do not change when property prices change. If you have never been on an unmetered water bill, your water company can look up the RV for your address. Typical rateable values range from £100 to £500 for most properties.
Water bills increased by an average of 26% (around £123) from April 2025 following Ofwat's PR24 price review, which sets the maximum amount water companies can charge for the period 2025–2030. The increases fund a £104 billion investment programme — the largest in the history of the water industry — to upgrade ageing infrastructure, reduce sewage spills, fix leaking pipes, and improve water quality. The increases are front-loaded, meaning the largest rises happen in the first year (2025/26), with smaller increases of around 5% expected in subsequent years through to 2030. Southern Water has the largest increase at 47%, while Northumbrian Water has the smallest at 19%.

Related Calculators

Add This Calculator to Your Website

Embed the sum.money Water Bill Calculator on your site. Free, responsive, always up-to-date.

<iframe src="https://sum.money/embed/uk/water-bill-calculator" width="100%" height="600"></iframe>