Essex & Suffolk Water’s average bill for water services will increase by about 4p a week as its multimillion-pound AMP6 investment programme continues over the next five years.

The company’s 1.8 million customers will, on average, pay about 63p per day for their drinking water services. The average Essex & Suffolk Water bill for 2015/16, which comes into effect from April, will be £229 compared to the average bill in 2014/15 of £227.

Part of Northumbrian Water, Essex & Suffolk Water supplies drinking water only. Charges for  2015/16 for Essex & Suffolk Water will varying from a £195 average for metered services and an average of £276 for an unmetered supply.

During AMP6 the utility will invest an average of £50 million on essential improvements each year from 2015 to 2020 – a total of £250 million over the five year period.

Essex & Suffolk Water has now completed its major AMP5 £150 million investment in the Abberton Reservoir Scheme, securing water supplies to 1.5 million people in Essex. Filling of the enlarged reservoir, near Colchester, to hold an additional 15 billion litres of water is now underway.

The water company is also investing in major improvements to maintain and improve the reliability and quality of drinking water delivered through its network of 8,600km of water pipes.

Central to this is the replacement of more than 300km of old iron water mains, some of which are more than 80 years old and are not as reliable as they once were.  The essential upgrade will directly improve supplies for around 50,000 homes and businesses.