CAMPAIGNERS launched a legal challenge against Ofwat today, accusing the water regulator of unlawfully forcing customers to foot the bill for decades of neglect by the industry. 

River Action launched the challenge on the same day water bills per year in England and Wales increased by an average of £123.

The challenge centres on Ofwat’s 2024 price review, which granted “enhanced funding” to United Utilities.

Campaigners say that the regulator failed to ensure the extra funds would be spent on new water and sewage projects instead of fixing historic issues.

River Action argues that such decisions mean that customers could be forced to pay twice for failing infrastructure: once through previous water bills and again through upcoming charges. 

Alarmingly, campaigners warned that Ofwat relies on using simulation modelling to forecast sewage infrastructure capacity rather than real-world data when making its funding decisions. 

River Action also flagged concerns over Ofwat’s ability to reclaim enhanced funds if they have been misused and questioned its approach to assessing compliance with environmental permits.

Leigh Day solicitor Ricardo Gama said: “Ofwat has provided repeated assurances that it won’t let price rises be spent on fixing historic issues, and that customers won’t be expected to pay twice.

“But in documents seen by River Action, it appears that Ofwat hasn’t sufficiently investigated whether the extra funding that United Utilities has been allocated will actually be used for that purpose.

“River Action believes this is indicative of a wider lack of due diligence undertaken by Ofwat over many years, which has resulted in money not being spent on maintaining infrastructure.”

Ofwat said it rejects River Action’s claims and that last year’s price review process carefully scrutinised business plans to ensure that customers were getting fair value and investment was justified.