WELSH WATER BOSS SAYS CUSTOMERS MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN HIGHER BILLS OR SLOWER...

Welsh Water customers face a choice between accepting higher bills or waiting longer for service improvements, according to Roch Cheroux, who took over as the company's boss in January. Cheroux stated that decades of under-investment and ageing infrastructure mean the company cannot improve performance without significant new spending funded by customer bills. He said the company has no other source of money to fix its assets. Earlier this year, industry regulator Ofwat found Welsh Water failed to properly operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater network to handle current sewage levels.

Welsh Water was issued an enforcement package by Ofwat that included £40.6 million to reduce spills and environmental damage, plus an additional £4.1 million to improve river quality. Customers in most parts of Wales faced a 27 per cent increase in water bills from April last year, with the average annual bill rising from £503 to £639. The company has announced a five-year period of bill increases totalling 42 per cent by 2029-30. Cheroux pointed to the condition of pipes, treatment works and other infrastructure across Wales, noting that much of the network is decades old and requires replacement rather than simple repair.

Some Welsh Water customers expressed scepticism about whether bill increases would deliver improvements. A resident from Ammanford stated she had not observed corresponding changes in service quality. Another customer who moved to Wales from Scotland described the bill level as a shock and said she would not be willing to pay more. A third customer from Ammanford characterised the water bill as "far too high" relative to the service received.