Craven households are facing an above-inflation 6.1 per cent rise in average water bills. Ofwat this week announced price rises that will see the typical combined annual bill for water and sewerage in Yorkshire rise from £340 to £361. The bill changes for this year will come into effect from April and apply until the end of March next year. Ofwat chief executive Regina Finn said: “When we set limits on prices, we listened to customers. They told us they wanted bills kept down, while maintaining safe, reliable water supplies. We challenged companies hard to deliver this. We understand that any bill rise is unwelcome, particularly in tough economic times. Inflation feeds through into water bills, and this is driving these rises.”