How we calculated the proportion of revenue English water firms use to pay off debt

Finding out the percentage from consumer bills used to service debt is tricky. We worked with industry experts to shed light on the issue

• Water firms use up to 28% of bill payments to service debt in areas of England

Two years after the cost of living crisis hit, many English households are still struggling. And while people can – and have – cut back on many things, water is not one of them.

What a lot of billpayers may not realise is that their money does not just pay for services, it also services debt, much of which is connected to dividends paid to shareholders.