Water bills will rise for everyone in Kent - and many residents will be paying £200 more in five years’ time.

The figures for each water company in the county have been confirmed in a price review announced today by the regulator Ofwat.

Nationwide bills will go up by £31 a year on average until 2030.

The biggest rise is for customers of Southern Water, who will see average annual payments go up by 53%, from £420 in 2024/25 to £642 in 2029/30.

This is the largest increase in the country.

Southern Water has been criticised over a series of wastewater and sewage releases in recent years.

In 2021, it was fined a record £90 million for dumping billions of litres of raw sewage into the sea at 17 sites, with various spillages around the east Kent coast.

Sally Burtt-Jones, of the anti-pollution group SOS Whitstable, said: “These bill increases are outrageous.

“It’s another symbol of failure of privatisation. We’ve seen crumbling infrastructure, sewage pollution and mountains of debts built up by these water companies. We need to take profit out of the industry and bring it back into public ownership.“

For people served by Thames Water the rise is by 35%, from £497 to £610.

Affinity Water customers will see their average charges rise by 28%, from £192 to £241, and South East Water’s will go up 24%, from £232 to £287.

The only decrease, by 3%, is for SES Water customers who will pay an annual average of £215 instead of £221.

Ofwat has authorised this to fund a nationwide £104 billion upgrade to speed up the delivery of cleaner rivers and seas and secure long-term drinking water supplies for customers.

David Black, Ofwat chief executive, said: "Today marks a significant moment. It provides water companies with an opportunity to regain customers' trust by using this £104 billion upgrade to turn around their environmental record and improve services to customers.

"Water companies now need to rise to this challenge, customers will rightly expect them to show they can deliver significant improvement over time to justify the increase in bills.

“Alongside the step up in investment, we need to see a transformation in companies' culture and performance. We will monitor and hold companies to account on their investment programmes and improvements.”

Water companies across the country have been criticised for the spillage of sewage into rivers and seas despite the profits they have made.

The prices and other details are from Ofwat’s 2024 Price review Final Determinations.

Almost £12 billion is allocated to cutting spills from storm overflows by 45% by 2030, from 2021 levels.

In total, 30 major infrastructure projects nationwide will build greater resilience to drought by providing enough water to meet the daily needs of around a third of England and Wales' population.

There will be a clawback mechanism to ensure money not spent on investment by companies is returned to customers through lower bills.

The price increases had been lower than the water firms had asked for.

Southern Water wanted an 83% rise over the five years, Thames Water 53%, South East Water 43%, Affinity Water 28%, and SES Water 9%.

Southern Water chief executive Lawrence Gosden said: “We’re very conscious that a rise in bills isn’t easy for our customers, essential though it is to delivering the improved performance and infrastructure that’s required.

“So we’re significantly expanding the wide range of support available for those customers who are most in need.”

Southern Water has published a Clean Rivers and Seas Plan outlining proposals, underpinned by £1.5 billion investment between 2025-2035, to get to the root cause of storm overflows across its region.

The company supplies water or handles wastewater for all parts of Kent except the Sevenoaks area.

A spokesperson for Thames Water said: “The company will set out by early February the charges for customers that will apply from April 2025. These charges will reflect Ofwat’s Final Determination, and Thames Water remains committed to supporting those customers who need help with their bills.”

Thames Water is a supply and sewerage service and covers the Dartford and Sevenoaks areas.

SES Water supplies the Edenbridge area.

Susan Davy, chief executive of its owners the Pennon Group said: “Today’s news from Ofwat means that we have been given the green light to invest a record £3.2bn level over the next 5 years.

“This is on top of the £1.2bn we’ve already invested in our assets recently. We’re serious about making a difference now and in the future - our customers rightly deserve to see real change which we are already delivering.”

South East Water provides water for the districts of Ashford, Canterbury, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling and Tunbridge Wells

Affinity Water supplies Dover town and its neighbouring villages and all of the Folkestone and Hythe district.