The change is meant to provide the water services with more money to fix sewage issues and infrastructure supply problems. Finn Macdiarmid reports.
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00:00I think they should stop paying the shareholders so much instead of putting it at the prices
00:04for normal people that are struggling already.
00:06I don't think we should have it because obviously the meters are supposed to help us save it
00:10and everything, but if the money's going up again, what's the point of having the meter?
00:13I think it's absolutely disgusting because people, you know, that are on low wages or
00:18unemployed just can't afford this sort of thing, you know, and with everything being
00:22the way it is, it's absolutely disgusting.
00:26This is the reaction of people in Gillingham after being told their water bills could go
00:30up by more than £200 by 2029.
00:33The announcement comes after years of concern over water pipeline issues and sewage discharges
00:38across Kent's coast and rivers, with the idea that the increase will prop up the financially
00:43struggling water companies and allow for positive change to the service.
00:46This includes improvements to the environment with an aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
00:50by 8%, as well as improving the service by reducing leakage, investing £25 million in
00:55its metering programme and an 89% reduction in water supply interruptions.
01:00In coastal areas like Thanet, the sewage issue is particularly important.
01:05One of the reasons why these bills are going up is because the shareholders are taking
01:09their dividends and the companies are sacking up their profits and taking that money off
01:14bill payers who are having to pay the pay for the failures of over a decade or so of
01:22mismanagement by the companies because they have not been investing in the infrastructure.
01:26So the money we pay will be going towards investing in that infrastructure.
01:30It's just a pity they haven't been doing that themselves with their own money for the
01:34last decade or so, so we have the infrastructure that we need so we don't end up with more
01:39sewage being dumped in our seas.
01:41It's being called Ofwat's final determination, as the regulator had the final say on how
01:46much the bills would go up.
01:48In a statement, Southern Water's CEO Lawrence Godson said,
02:08Southern Water had put in a request for an 84% bill hike over the next five years, so
02:13obviously that's been tempered down slightly by Ofwat.
02:16However, these bill increases are outrageous and it's just another symbol of the failure
02:22of privatisation.
02:24Different areas of Kent are under the jurisdiction of separate companies, so while Gillingham
02:28will see their water bills go up to £642, areas under South East Water will only be
02:34hit with a projected £55 increase.
02:36But no matter the rate, the increase can have a significant effect on people's finances,
02:41especially during the cost-of-living crisis.
02:43Finn McDermid for KMTV