Trust in water companies across England and Wales has reached a new low according to the annual Water Matters report from CCW, the independent voice for all water and sewerage consumers across England and Wales – CCW has been tracking household customers’ views on water and sewerage services for 15 years.

Thirteen water companies saw their customer trust ratings fall during the year, as the overall score for England and Wales dropped from 6.28 to 6.07 out of 10. The most trusted water company was Northumbrian Water (7.02), while Thames Water finished bottom of the pile (4.74 out of 10).

The survey also found just 44% of household customers felt what they were being charged was fair, falling for a third successive year to reach another record low. And just 63% of customers felt their water bill was affordable, down 11% to another new low.

The findings have emerged against the backdrop of significant increases to water bills – including unprecedented rises in April 2025 – as well as discontent among some customers with water companies’ communication.

Water companies are investing more than £100 billion as part of a the AMP8 2025-30 investment programme to improve services and clean up rivers, streams, lakes and seas. However, fewer than half (46%) of customers said they felt their water company was doing a good job of communicating its plans, slipping to its lowest ever level. And while queries around bills remained the biggest cause of customer contact to water companies, reaching a record high, satisfaction with this contact hit a new low.

This was also reflected in the number of complaints about water companies that were escalated to CCW during 2025 – the watchdog handling just over 16,000 complaints, an overall increase of 51% compared to 2024. This rise was largely fuelled by disputes around bills and financial worries.

Mike Keil, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council for Water, said:

“Some water companies have been quick to blame regulation for the water sector’s failures but much slower to take responsibility for things within their control – not least the way they communicate with their customers.

“Fewer customers think they are getting a fair deal or value for money and what’s clear from our work with consumers is that people want more clarity about their bills, how their money is being spent and what support water companies can offer them.”

Water and sewerage companies’ effectiveness in dealing with sewage and reducing spills from storm overflows will be critical in changing customers’ perceptions around environmental performance.

Just a third of customers (35%) are satisfied with companies’ efforts to protect the environment, while satisfaction with sewerage services slumped to its lowest-ever level – 60% (down 4%). People’s biggest concerns in this area continue to centre around companies’ management of sewer flooding and their efforts to clean wastewater properly before releasing it back into the environment.

More encouragingly, awareness of the support water companies can offer struggling households through schemes which reduce bills reached a new high at 56%. All water companies offer social tariffs that can significantly reduce bills for low-income households.

However, the level of support and who is eligible for it varies considerably across water companies, which is why CCW continues to make the case for a single social tariff for England and Wales. The consumer watchdog for water said this would allow financial support to flow to where it is needed most, providing fair and consistent help.

More than 3,500 household water bill payers took part in the survey with fieldwork taking place between July 2025 and January 2026.

Click here to download the report