With the rising cost of water bills, not everyone can afford the minimum water consumption required for basic daily needs, particularly if you have medical needs or a large family.
The government has a fixed annual water and sewage bill capping scheme called WaterSure, which is available to help eligible applicants with their water bills.
In this article, we will explain how the WaterSure scheme works, the eligibility criteria, and where you can apply.
The WaterSure scheme is a UK government initiative that caps your annual water and sewerage charges at the average metered bill for your area.
To find the average metered bill for your area, you should check your water supplier's website or contact them.
If you’re unsure of who your water supplier is, find out in our article ‘How to find out who your water supplier is?’.
The WaterSure scheme is designed to make sure that eligible applicants never pay more than the capped amount.
This means that those requiring more water for their basic daily needs or those with a large family can benefit from savings by paying only the average metered bill for their area if it is less than their actual water usage.
The WaterSure scheme is available to eligible customers in England and Wales.
To be eligible, you must:
Not everyone with a water meter is automatically eligible for WaterSure, and must meet at least one of the other requirements.
Your water supplier should offer you WaterSure if you or someone in your household receives one of the following benefits:
If you have any of the following medical conditions, then you should be eligible for the WaterSure scheme:
If you have any other medical condition requiring extra water, then you should be eligible for the WaterSure scheme.
Families that claim Child Benefit for three or more children under the age of 19 are eligible for the WaterSure scheme.
It's important to note that each child must reside in the household applying for the WaterSure scheme.
There are a few steps that you must take to apply for WaterSure.
The steps are:
The application form can be found on your water supplier's website, or you can call them and ask if they will send you one.
Once you have filled out the form, provided evidence, and signed the document, you should expect to receive a response within five working days.
High essential use of water refers to a high water consumption that exceeds average household levels due to needs that cannot be reasonably reduced. For example, medical requirements such as dialysis at home or wound care.
High essential use of water distinguishes necessary high use from excessive or wasteful consumption.
Schemes such as WaterSure, which recognise high essential use, typically require documentation to verify the legitimate need for the higher than average water consumption.
If you believe your high water consumption is due to a faulty or leaking pipe, you can find out who is responsible for fixing it in our article ‘What are private drains and sewers?’
At Lanes, we work closely with water utility providers to maintain the unwavering health and safety standards required of utility companies.
We also offer domestic drain cleaning and drain unblocking services to individuals in need of drain or sewer maintenance services.
Visit our services page for more information on the work we provide, or contact us on 0800 526 488 for more details on our drain and sewer services.