Yorkshire Water bill rise is above inflation

Yorkshire Water has revealed that it will be imposing the increase – equivalent to about £31 a year on a typical bill – on people who pay charges based on the rateable values of their properties.

It said that customers whose water usage was measured by a meter would only face an increase of about 5.3 per cent.

The stark divide between the two types of customers emerged weeks after the regulator Ofwat announced that the “average household bill” for Yorkshire Water customers would go up by 6.1 per cent, but did not spell out the differences.

It said 6.1 per cent was 0.9 above the rate of inflation, defined as November’s Retail Price Index.

Ofwat chief executive officer Regina Finn said then that when setting prices, it listened to customers and they had told it they wanted bills kept down, while safe, reliable water supplies were maintained.

Yorkshire Water said yesterday that about 40 per cent of its customers now used meters, while the remainder had bills which were still based on their property’s rateable value.

A spokesman said the higher increase was being imposed on rateable-value based charges because an increasing number of customers were switching to meters and it was necessary to maintain the right balance between the two types of payment.

He said inflation accounted for a big part of the overall increase, allowing the company to pay for the rising cost of products and services.

The remainder went towards a five-year investment programme, which was improving the quality of Yorkshire’s rivers and seas, providing cleaner beaches and encouraging wildlife.

The spokesman said that in the past year, Yorkshire Water had created more than 500 jobs and helped more than 1,000 Yorkshire businesses by sourcing products and services from them.

It also intended to generate more energy from sewage and waste water to help keep costs down and look after the environment.

York householders continue to pay less for their water than people elsewhere in Yorkshire – a legacy from Yorkshire Water’s takeover of the old York Waterworks Company in the late 1990s.

Drain surgery

Fran Winter, Yorkshire Water’s network disruption manager, holds bottles showing the emulsifying effects of the bugs on fat.

TRILLIONS of fat-busting bugs are being deployed in York’s sewers to get rid of fat blockages and prevent pollution.

Yorkshire Water says the innovative and environmentally-friendly treatment process is being targeted at 26 known hot-spots around the city and surrounding areas where build-ups of fat, oil and grease are causing repeated problems.

A spokesman revealed that in the last eight months, crews had attended 1,474 jobs in York to remove blockages in local sewers, and 266 of those were carried out in January alone.

“Last year, 32 tonnes of fat – the equivalent weight of four double decker buses – were removed from a sewer which ran along the river from Lendal Bridge to Skeldergate Bridge,” he said.

He said organically grown bacillus bacteria, commonly found in the human gut, would feast on the fat, oils and grease. The bacteria are mixed with non-chlorinated water before being poured into the sewer.

“Over time, these substances build up on the inside of the sewer pipe and harden, reducing the flow capacity of the pipe and causing blockages, which can in worst case scenario’s lead to sewers flooding people’s homes and the environment.”