Water Matters 2021

Household customers’ views of their water and sewerage services

Our annual Water Matters survey tracks the views of household customers on the services they receive from water companies in England and Wales.

Our Highlights Report draws out some of the key themes and findings to emerge from the latest report and the steps we’ll be taking with the industry to tackle areas of concern.

It’s the eleventh year we’ve run the survey and while views of water and sewerage services remain generally positive, there have been some significant changes – particularly around affordability. These are likely to be a reflection of the increasingly volatile cost of living challenges facing many households.

Key findings include:

• At 91%, satisfaction with overall water services remained very high. This has been consistent over the last 11 years.
• Overall satisfaction with sewerage services decreased significantly. 78% of people were satisfied with their sewerage services, compared to 85% in the previous year.
• 62% of people perceived their charges to be fair, which was a significant decrease on the previous 12 months (69%).
• Around one in ten people in England felt that their water bills were unaffordable – rising to one in eight in Wales.
• 58% said their household finances were unchanged over the last year, a significant decrease from the previous 12 months (63%). Over one third said they had got worse and the remaining 9% said they had got better.
• 71% of people were confident that their water supply will be available in the longer term without restriction, which was a significant decrease on the previous year (75%).
• Awareness of the extra help offered to people in vulnerable circumstances through water companies’ Priority Services Registers rose from 43% to 48%.