Average water and sewerage bills in England and Wales will rise by 5.7% from April to about £376 per household.

英格兰与威尔士今年四月的平均水费将上涨5.7%，达到每户376磅。

The average figure disguises（伪装） variations between water and sewerage firms, with customers at Southern seeing an 8.2% rise and those at Dwr Cymru 3.8%.

In 2009 the industry regulator, Ofwat, announced a five-year plan of annual rises from 2010 to 2015 to help fund £22bn of investments.

Ofwat said it understood that any rises in tough times were unwelcome.

The regulator said that the average rise was made up of November's retail¹ prices index of 5.2%, plus 0.5%.

"Inflation feeds through into water bills, and this is driving these rises," Regina Finn, Ofwat's chief executive, said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We understand that any bill rise is unwelcome, particularly in tough economic times. We will make sure customers get value for money," she said.

She said that by 2015, companies will have spent on average £935 for every property in England and Wales on services improvements, including on cleaning up rivers and beaches.

"If companies don't deliver on their investment promises, we will take action," she said.