British homeowners 'face hike in bills to fund flood protection'
Fears were growing tonight that homeowners will ultimately be faced with stinging rises in water bills to cover the costs of increasing Britain’s flood protection.
As yet more severe weather threatened huge swathes of the country, concerns are already being raised about who will end up paying to improve defences to counter future deluges.
Head of the Environment Agency, Baroness Young, warned water bills would have to rise if the country is to be safeguarded against the increasing effects of climate change.
But with price limits for water already set for up to 2010 by regulator Ofwat, any rises could only come into force from 2011 onwards.
This could leave households counting the cost of this year’s weather four years on, as utility companies seek to recoup the money spent on combating possible future flood damage.
The National Consumer Council for Water expressed concern homeowners would face huge bills and stressed they should not have to pay for general flood defences.
Its chief executive, Tony Smith, said: “Customers should only be paying for things relating directly to the water and sewage system and not to general flooding. That should not happen. The issue of general flood protection is much broader.”
“Obviously some of this stuff will be played out at the next price review in 2009. We will be making sure that customers are at the heart of those discussions and making sure they are not paying unnecessarily.”
He asked: “Looking forward, the question is what more if anything needs to be done to protect ourselves from future flooding and climate change. What is the bill associated with that, the price tag? And what benefits are the customers going to get?”
Lady Young said infrastructure, including switching stations and water plants, had to be protected which would probably mean customers ultimately paying the price.
She said: “Utilities will have to pay for this protection and undoubtedly they will have to pass that on to their customers.”
Key issues were improving drainage in our towns and cities and protecting vital infrastructure, as well as reducing the water descending from seas and rivers, she said.
Local authorities would have to work with communities to create a sustainable plan for drainage in the future, which would then be covered by developers.
But Lady Young said in some “hotspots” that were not areas for development or redevelopment, there would need to be an agreement about how the improvements would be paid for.
She continued: “If it is about the drains controlled by the water companies, then obviously if they are climate change proofing, it will be paid out of what they are doing for customers.”
The water industry’s regulator Ofwat ruled out flooding having an immediate effect on billing because price limits are fixed for five-year periods and are already fixed up to 2010.
A spokeswoman said: “Price limits can only be changed in specific circumstances and the current floods cannot automatically lead to revised price limits.”
The current price settings will last until 2010, with new limits set for 2011 onwards after a review process which will start in 2009, she added.
Severn Trent refused to be drawn on whether its bills would increase, insisting that all their efforts were currently going into restoring normal service to the flood victims.
A spokesman said: “It is not something we are getting involved in at the moment. Our main priority is to get water back to the affected areas and we are concentrating on that.”
Thames Water said its customers had already been told what their bills would be for this year and insisted the regulatory framework in place meant they could never rise “out of all proportion”.
Hundreds of thousands of people are already counting the cost of the floods to their homes and livelihoods, and many are still without running water.
The death toll of the latest floods to hit England also rose today, with the discovery of a man’s body in a submerged field in Tewkesbury.
It is feared it could be that of missing teenager Mitchell Taylor, 19, who was last seen in the early hours of last Saturday after leaving a bar in the Gloucestershire town.
And more bad weather is on the way tonight with persistent downpours set to batter south Wales and already-saturated regions of England through until tomorrow morning.
The Met Office has predicted between six to nine hours of persistent downpours which could reach 30-40mm in places and the Environment Agency is warning it could cause flash floods.
It is not predicted to be anywhere near as bad as last weekend, but emergency services were preparing themselves for the worst tonight and advising people to stay at home.
Gloucestershire Police’s Chief Constable Tim Brain said: “Do think twice or maybe three times about whether you need to go out this evening. It could be wet and wild and maybe the best place for you is a good night in at home.”
