💧 Annual Water Charging Arrangements Update

Updated Water Charging Arrangements have now been published, with revised rates taking effect from 1st April 2026. A summary of the year-on-year changes across multiple water authorities is attached.

The data highlights several key trends:

• Increases across a number of water authorities, particularly around wastewater infrastructure charges

• In some cases, year-on-year uplifts exceed 40%, well beyond standard inflationary adjustments

• A growing emphasis on environmental components and incentive mechanisms, which are now a significant factor in overall connection costs

There have also been a lot of increases across project fees such as admin, application and design fees.

The summary also sets out the environmental incentives available for 2026/27, which can help offset some of these increases through water efficiency measures, surface water strategies, and offsetting solutions.

For developers, landowners and project teams, this reinforces the importance of:

• Reviewing utility cost assumptions against current charging structures

• Identifying applicable incentives before designs/strategies are fixed

• Avoiding late-stage cost exposure as schemes move towards delivery

If you would like a better understanding of how this will affect your development, please drop us an email at info@simpleutilitiesltd.com.