Water bills in Wales are going up on average from £503 to £639 from April - around a 27% increase. It's the start of five years of increases that will see household water bills in Wales rise by a total of 42%.

The nation's largest water company, Welsh Water Dwr Cymru, will be allowed to increase its bills from an average of £455 this year to £645 in five years time. Water companies across England and Wales have said that the increases will lead to more investment to deal with problems like leaks and sewage overflows. Hafren Dyfrdwy, which serves about 87,000 customers along the Wales-England border is increasing bills by 32% from April.

Welsh Water said from April clean water would cost "an average of £1.75 a day" and the overall increases would fund a "68 per cent increase in investment" over the next five years. They have said that more than £4bn will be invested in services including £2.5bn on projects to improve the environment.

They say the investment will fund work to reduce pollution, upgrade and build new vital assets, reduce leakage, and improve water quality, while creating 2,000 new jobs in the supply chain. Some of the schemes that will be started during 2025-26, according to Welsh Water, include improving river quality in Corwen, Llanfoist, Letterston and Lampeter, work on 23 storm overflows, 75km of mains replaced, mostly in west Wales and work to upgrade the dams at Cwm Celyn, Usk, Cwmwernderi Tower and Craig Goch.

But a consumer group now says there is "an urgent need to bring in a new system of providing help for people who will find it increasingly difficult to pay their bills". Rhodri Williams, deputy chair of the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), has called for an end to the "postcode lottery" of support for struggling families.

The CCW has proposed a single system of support for customers across Wales and England. Mr Williams told BBC Wales that, under the proposed scheme "there would be more money to spend on assistance for customers in Wales" because rates of poverty were higher than in England.

In Wales, people are set to see a 42% increase over five years that is equivalent to a rise of £31 every year. However the rise is front loaded meaning that households will face a heavy average hike of £86 or 20% in the next year, excluding inflation, with smaller percentage increases in each of the next four years. The average bill will rise by a total of £157 or 36% over the next five years.

Ofwat chief executive David Black said: "We recognise it is a difficult time for many, and we are acutely aware of the impact that bill increases will have for some customers. That is why it is vital that companies are stepping up their support for customers who struggle to pay.

"We have robustly examined all funding requests to make sure they provide value for money and deliver real improvements, while ensuring the sector can attract the levels of investment it needs to meet environmental requirements."

A spokesman for Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water has said: "Any price increases are never welcomed, and we have always sought to keep these to a minimum, however, bill increases have not kept up with inflation over the past 15 years. Whilst Ofwat has challenged us hard on our plans and on efficiency, we – like the rest of the sector - would not be able to finance the needed increase in investment in a sustainable manner without increasing bills.

"We will ensure, however, that we continue to provide the most financial support we can to customers who struggle with their bills."