After missing important goals on pollution and leakage, water firms have been compelled to reimburse customers £158 million by lowering their costs for the next year.

However, most clients won't see a decrease in their bills of more than £10.

Since businesses have been forced to reimburse consumers for the past four years, environmental campaigners questioned the significance of the steps taken by the water regulator, Ofwat.

According to industry organisation Water UK, businesses have improved in most areas and are dedicated to improving their performance. As reported by the BBC.

Every year, Ofwat evaluates the performance of the 17 biggest water and wastewater firms in England and Wales in relation to important benchmarks for problems including water leaks, supply disruptions, and sewer floods.

No firm received the highest grade for the second year in a row, while four did demonstrate progress over the previous year.

The lowest-performing businesses will now have to repay £157.6 million to customers on their invoices for 2025–2026 as a result of their inability to reach the standards.

Despite outperforming its overall performance from the previous year, Thames Water will still need to refund the highest amount of £56.8 million to consumers.

However, consumers' costs will only be reduced by a few pounds. It will be overshadowed by the long-term rise that Ofwat is presently proposing, which is estimated to raise family income by £94 over the next five years.

The water firms, who contend that even higher rates are necessary if they are to finance the infrastructure upgrades necessary to address some of the difficulties brought up in this performance report, are still negotiating this price increase.

(Sources: bbc.co.uk)