Understanding your water bill

If you have any other questions regarding your account, you can view, pay, and get help with your bills online by using Affinity Water, My Account. My Account is the quickest and easiest way to manage your account online. Alternatively, you can contact our billing team.

Your bill may have been sent to the email address that we associated with your account. Login into My Account where you can view your current and previous bills. If you are RV, you will receive a bill once a year, usually in February or March. If you are Metered, you will receive a bill every six months.

We exchange personal data with credit reference agencies to maintain accurate records, prevent fraud, and identify customers at risk of debt. This helps us manage debt and keep prices lower for everyone. Paying your bill on time can positively impact your credit rating.

Find out more about how we share data with Credit Reference Agencies and what this means for you.

There are two different types of non-metered bills:

Non-metered is a fixed rate regardless of number of occupants or the water used in the household and this set by the local authority.

Rateable Value (RV) is based on the rateable value of the property itself, neighbours don’t always have the same RV. Some people have remarkably high RV, and some people have a low RV, even if they have many occupants.

We also have Assessed Charges which is where we have tried to install a meter externally or internally and were unsuccessful. If this is the case, we will then bill on ‘Assessed Charges’ which is a fixed rate based on number of occupants and bedrooms.

The clean water element of the bill from Affinity Water is based on number of occupants. For some regions, the wastewater companies bill assess wastewater charges based on the number of bedrooms in the property.

Non-metered charges are based on Rateable Values.

Rateable Values are set by the Valuation Office of the Inland Revenue and are loosely based on what the average rental value of your property would be, so the higher the rateable value the more likely it is that you will be charged. We or any other water company cannot change this value.

More information about Rateable Value can be found on our regulator OFWAT’s website.

Your wastewater is calculated from the amount used or run from your taps. In some cases, the water doesn’t go down the drain as it is used for drinking water, cleaning in the house or watering plants. In this case customer can apply for a wastewater abatement. Depending on who your is, you can get up to 10 per cent off your wastewater.

If you do not use public drainage and have a septic tank or soakaway then you’ll need to fill out an application form with your wastewater provider. Once we receive confirmation from them, we’ll amend and remove the Thames Water or Anglian Water wastewater charges from your bill.

If you don’t have a water meter and your bill is based on Rateable Value, then the number of occupants isn’t considered. You may be better off with a water meter where you only pay for what you use. You can use our online calculator to find out how much you could save and then apply for a meter to be installed.

Customers are billed based on three distinct types of bills also known as tariffs:

• Metered billing: Customers who have a water meter installed.
• Non-metered billing: Customers without a water meter installed.
• Assessed charges billing: Customers who can’t have a meter fitted.

You could be on a non–metered bill, which is a fixed amount regardless of the number of people living there and is based on Rateable Value (RV). Some customers have a remarkably high RV, and some customers have a low RV, so your neighbours don’t always have the same RV as you.

If you are currently on the Universal Metering Programme, you may have had a meter installed recently. However, while being on your ‘one-year comparison’ journey, you are still charged at the Rateable Value. This is until you either opt into measured charges within the one-year or you are happy to automatically switch over at the end of the one-year journey.

If we tried to install a meter and were unsuccessful, we bill on ‘Assessed Charges’. This is a fixed amount based on the number of occupants and bedrooms, so your neighbour may be paying less due to this. Your neighbour may just be using less water.

For more info, visit our understanding your bill page.

Our clean water supply tariff is reviewed annually and approved by Ofwat, our regulator. From 1 April 2025, there will be an increase. Find out more about the price increase here.

You may notice your prices have increased, but your water usage may not have increased. This is because the unit cost of water has increased. The increase is part of a larger trend of rising water bills across the UK, driven by necessary investments in infrastructure and operations.

We only supply clean water, but your bill may include wastewater charges on behalf of wastewater providers Anglian Water or Thames Water. For 2025/26 these charges vary with Thames Water's wastewater charges increasing by 40 per cent, and Anglian Water's wastewater charges increasing by 7 per cent.

We don’t charge for wastewater on behalf of Southern Water.

For more info, visit our price increase page.

Your water bill might go up for various reasons, and some of the most common ones are:

• More people than usual staying in your home
• New appliances that use more water, such as a power shower or garden sprinkler
• Problems with your toilet, taps, showerheads, boiler, or radiator
• Leaks through your overflow pipe or internal pipes
• Home renovations that use more water

Find out more why your bill might be high.

If you’ve a non-metered bill, unfortunately, Rateable Value (RV) is set by the local authority and cannot be disputed. If you don’t want to be billed on RV, we can discuss having a meter installed, where you will be billed on your water usage.

If you’ve a metered bill and you’re concerned about your usage or have noticed an unexplained general increase in price, we recommend carrying out the following leak check:

• Locate your meter.
• Turn off any water in your home, including showers, dishwasher, washing machines etc.
• If your meter is still moving 15-30 minutes after you’ve done this, this could indicate you have a leak, you’ll now need to identify if the leak is internal or external.

Locate your Internal Stop Tap (IST) and turn it off. Allow another 15-30 minutes for the water to drain from the pipes.

• Internal: if your meter has stopped moving then it’s likely you have a leak within your property. We are unable to assist with internal leaks and recommend you contact local and reputable plumber, or landlord or letting agent.
• External: if your meter is still moving, this would indicate you’ve a leak on your external supply pipe and we recommend that you contact a plumber, or if you have house insurance to contact them. If the property is rented, then you can contact your landlord or letting agent.

If you’re still unsure about your bill after these checks, please get in contact with one of our advisors who will talk to you about the number of occupants in your house, any recent change in your usage and how that correlates with typical usage within your area or in similar houses the same as yours. They will also talk to you about whether you may qualify for any social tariffs, as well as offering water saving devices, and tips on how to save water and reduce costs.

If you've had a sudden life change and need some time to get back on your feet, we may be able to arrange a payment break.

You can spread the cost of your bill with a flexible payment plan.

If you’re receiving benefits, such as Job Seeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit, or Universal Credit, you may be eligible for a reduced bill. For more information, please visit our Help to Pay page.

We have different tariffs that serve different purposes. Our main reduced tariff is our Low-Income Fixed Tariff (LIFT) and is available to customer whose total household income is less than £19,995 (based on 2025-2026 qualifying criteria) or who are currently claiming certain benefits; such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Job Seeker's Allowance.

As we are a clean water only supplier, there will be variance on total water bills, depending on which wastewater company supplies your region. They each have their own reduced tariffs for the wastewater part of the bill.

You can see all the tariff options on our help to pay page. Or you can contact us and we’ll help work out which tariff is best for you.

If you don’t have a payment plan in place, you’ll need to pay the full amount on your bill by the due date. To make things easier, you can set up a Direct Debit to split your payments over the year. Simply log in or register for My Account.

Your Direct Debit may automatically increase if your bill goes up.

If you have a metered bill, your Direct Debit may be increased to make sure you have enough money in your account to pay the next bill. This is called a Budget Review.

The updated Direct Debit amounts will be shown on your bill. Log in or register for My Account to view your bill online.

If you have an outstanding balance on your account, we may contact you to help set up a payment plan . Sometimes, we need to ask a debt collection agency to help arrange a plan that you can afford. The debt collection agency works independently, and we don't control how they operate, but we’re here to support you through the process and ensure a fair and manageable arrangement.

If your account is overdue, it could affect your credit rating. Find out how we share your information with credit agencies.

We try to install meters at the Boundary Stop Tap (BST), also known as the ‘Outside Stop Tap’, which is normally in front of your house, drive or footpath. This is where you’d shut off all the water to your property. If the BST is too deep for the technicians and public’s safety, we’ll try to install one inside your house.

If you’re on a joint supply pipe with a neighbour, we can’t install a meter as it would measure your usage and your neighbour’s usage combined. In this case we’ll also try to install one inside your house where the internal stop tap is.

There might be several reasons why we can’t install a meter. Regardless, we will first come out and assess and try, before making any conclusions. If we can’t install a meter, we will consult you about installing internally. If you’re happy to go ahead with an internal installation, we will try to fit it. Normally this is found under your kitchen sink or the downstairs bathroom (if you have one).

This is not always the case, if you don’t know where your internal stop tap is please consult with your landlord or letting agent, or if the homeowner, hire a plumber to locate.

If we still can’t fit the meter internally, we will put you on an assessed charges tariff. We might not be able to complete an internal installation if:

• the stop tap is boxed in
• the house renovations have blocked it off,
• or before you moved-in it was already blocked off.

If this is the case but you would still like to go ahead, we advise the best approach is to work with your landlord, letting agent, or if you own the property, a plumber to have the stop tap freed of obstruction. Once freed, we can come out and try to instal the internal meter.

There are varied reasons why this could be happening:

The meter is not accessible: your meter may require manual reading if the meter or home are behind a gated community, in bushes, covered by an overgrown lawn, high grass, large flowerpots or a bed of stones, we may not be able to read your meter. Other issues affecting reading include covered with no radio activation. We are not allowed to move anything to uncover your meter, please ensure the meter is cleared of any obstructions and accessible.

The meter is lost or damaged: if your meter itself is damaged the most likely cause is debris, such as stones, falling into the chamber. Or it becomes difficult to read if the glass is broken or the meter itself is completely damaged during seasonal changes. In any of these cases we can raise a meter exchange for you.

When a meter is replaced due to damage, age or reading difficulty, we can try to take an up-to-date accurate reading to bill you correctly. If this is not possible as the meter itself is damaged, we would estimate on the previous actual consumption if there is available history. If there is no consumption history, then from the new meter, we would take an up-to-date reading and bill, based on the consumption of the new meter.

Reading too low: if your water use has dropped suddenly, been much lower than expected for a long time, or there’s been no usage at your property without letting us know, your bill will be based on estimated reading. A meter reader will be sent out again to verify the previous reading is lower and take a picture to confirm this. The reason we would estimate this is that we would not want to refund any money back, without being 100% sure we have photographic evidence.

If there’s no recorded usage but you are using water, the meter may be damaged and will need replacing. If the meter is only partially recording usage, we’ll also arrange a replacement. If your meter has slowed down or stopped recording altogether, we will not backdate your charges or rebill you based on your consumption history, due to our asset failing.

If there is genuinely no usage at the property, please call us so we can confirm and update your bill using an actual reading.