Water bills in Sussex among highest in the UK

A map showing the areas covered by different water companies and their yearly charges

Residents in Sussex are likely to pay among the highest prices in the UK for water utilities.

The cost of water utilities varies greatly depending on where you live in the UK, research by rainwater harvesting company Freeflush has found.

Southern Water customers pay the third highest amount in yearly bills, research showed.

Customers are likely to pay an average yearly cost of £673 – a total cheaper only than that of Wessex Water at £728 and South West Water at £943.

Unlike gas and electricity supplies, there is a lower number of water utility companies in the UK and they tend to be focused in set regions, a spokesman said.

The cheapest place to get your water is across the City of London and up towards Essex and the surrounding counties.

Thames Water charge just £440 a year while Severn Trent, which covers everywhere from Bristol to Birmingham and the lower edge of Yorkshire, comes in at £502 per year.

The full list of water companies and their yearly bills, compiled by Freeflush, is as follows:

1. Thames Water: £440

2. Severn Trent: £502

3. Northumberland Water: £539

4. Yorkshire Water: £562

5. Northern Ireland Water: £596

6. Scottish Water: £600

7. Anglian Water: £619

8. Dwr Cymru Welsh Water: £636

9. United Utilities: £652

10. Southern Water: £673

11. Wessex Water: £728

12. South West Water: £943

Freeflush gathered the data for England and Wales from the Consumer Council of Water using their water meter calculator and basing figures on an average household of four people using 165m3 per year.

Data for Northern Ireland and Scottish Water was gathered separately.