Bradford householders face a big rise in their annual water bills to cover the cost of new European legislation and Government taxes, it was announced today.

Yorkshire Water revealed its plans to put up bills as it published its five-year £1.3 billion plan to further improve the region's water and sewage treatment.

It will mean the average household bill rises by at least £8.20, or 3.6 per cent on top of inflation, every year between 2005 and 2010.

But today consumer group WaterWatch called on the price rise to be limited to inflation.

Bradford-based Yorkshire Water defended the rise and said it was due to the growing cost of complying with European legislation and an increase in taxes the company has to pay to the Government.

Managing director Kevin Whiteman said that, despite the rises, Yorkshire Water customers would still be paying among the lowest prices in the UK for their water.

He described the company's business plan as "a delicate balance and one which I believe we have got right".

He said the plan squared the need for significant new investment with environmental compliance and customers' willingness to pay.

"We have worked hard to minimise the impact on customers' bills and, were it not for taxation charges and new EU legislation, customers' bills in Yorkshire would actually be falling in real terms, despite our pledge to invest nearly £1 million per day during the five-year period."

But Peter Bowler, campaign officer for WaterWatch, rejected the claim that the rise was due to legislation and taxation. He said the tax was effectively charged on the company's profits and called on Ofwat to "kick that argument into touch".

"WaterWatch believes that Ofwat should be asking, at the very most, to restrict them to inflationary rises," he said, "We believe that the water companies' capital investment programmes can be carried out far more cheaply and that this has been the experience in the past."

He said it was not for current customers to fund investment programmes which would benefit the company for decades.

The proposed rise will have to be cleared by the regulatory body Ofwat next year before it can be imposed.

But the Yorkshire Water proposals are lower than some others and below the average of £15 per year indicated by Water UK, the organisation which represents the UK's 22 water companies.

Mr Whiteman said: "The price rises we are proposing are among the lowest in the industry and will help us to build on the significant improvements we have made over recent years to our customer service and the environment."

He also pointed to the current £100 million investment in its Bradford Strategy to replace and upgrade huge tracts of sewers and water mains.

The new £1.3 billion five-year plan is expected to reduce significantly incidents of sewer flooding, improve river and bathing quality and deliver better tap water.