Water bills on the Isle of Wight are to rise, partly to fund capital works such as the new sewage pipeline under the River Medina.
WATER bills on the Isle of Wight will rise by an average of 5.3 per cent this year, compared to a national average increase of 3.5 per cent.
Southern Water announced today (Tuesday) that bills would increase by approximately £1.90 per month, compared with last year.
Some of the money will be used to fund the company’s £1.8 billion capital investment programme, which started in 2010 and runs until 2015.
Southern Water’s chief customer officer Darren Bentham said: "By ensuring investment in our communities we are able to support thousands of jobs, while delivering improved services and a wide range of environmental improvements such as cleaner rivers and seas.
"Our five-year spending programme includes more than 330 environmental projects. That is more than any other water company and makes up a large part of our investment.
"These projects are in response to new European legislation and will have many environmental benefits.
"However, it’s a fine balance — while our charges must rise to meet the enormous cost of our investment, we have a duty to our customers to keep our increases to a minimum."
Ray Harrington-Vail of Island charity the Footprint Trust, said help was available to anyone struggling with the cost and people could ask for their bills to be capped if they had limited financial means or family circumstances that meant they used large amounts of water.
Anyone concerned about being able to pay their water bill can contact the Footprint Trust for help and advice on 822282.