Trust in water companies to deliver a range of activities may slowly be recovering, according to the latest cost of living report from Ofwat.

The findings in the report, which are taken from an online survey conducted by Savanta between 9-24 October 2025, looks at the experiences of water bill payers in England and Wales.

The report is the eighth in a series on the cost of living and focuses on how bill payers are managing financially and the extent to which they are struggling with daily costs. It then looks at trust in water companies to deliver a range of activities.

According to the report, trust in water companies to deliver across a range of activities fell significantly at the start of this time series. Over the last year, however, there has been a marginal increase in trust.

“This presents an opportunity for water companies – it shows that trust can be restored if companies deliver the high service customers want and deserve,” the report says.

Starting with a review of household bills, it offers insights about the extent to which customers are struggling with their water bill or other utility bills.

The number of respondents who say they struggled ‘sometimes’ or more often to pay household bills over the last year now stands at 47% – similar to the 48% who reported this a year ago. One in six water bill payers report struggling with their water bill (17%), while almost twice this number (32%) are concerned about the cost of their water bill.

The report also sets out steps people take to manage their bills when struggling, with 8% reporting receiving financial help with their water bill. However, more people than this know about the support available for water bills and other utility bills. Awareness of support available for water bills has remained steady over the last year – with around one third (34%) of water bill payers aware of this.

Thr findings show that people want from their water companies has stayed consistent over time – with good quality drinking water, a reliable service and value for money the top three priorities. Water bill payers give the highest trust scores for the first of these two (broadly around six in ten). However, trust in water companies to deliver value for money is lower at around four in ten.

Commenting in the foreword to the report, Lynn Parker, Senior Director at Ofwt for Casework, Enforcement and Customers says:

“Earlier this year, a new five year period began for water. This will see record levels of investment in the sector but it also means bills going up. To build customer trust in relation to value for money, we encourage companies to proactively and regularly tell people about how this investment is being spent. This step up in investment gives companies an important platform for engaging their customers on what steps they are taking to deliver a better service for today and for the future.”

Other key findings flagged up in the report include:

• Around three in ten bill payers think their financial situation is worse than a year ago
• Just under half of bill payers reported struggling to pay household bills ‘sometimes’ or more often over the past year
• The gap between concern for the cost of water and concern for the cost of energy is narrowing
• A quarter of bill payers would be concerned about a £5 increase in monthly household costs
• Almost four in ten (39%) of those who reported currently struggling with their water bill reported that they were aware of water companies providing financial support
• Research has consistently shown a correlation between struggling to pay bills and poor mental health

In total, 2,373 bill payers in England and Wales were included in the research. The sample includes 1,968 respondents in England and 405 in Wales. The data was weighted to be nationally representative by age, gender and region for England, and age and gender for Wales.

Click here to download the report