Understanding Your South East Water Bill

Getting in a muddle with your water bill? We understand knowing where to start when reading your bill can be daunting. Please don’t worry, we are here to support you along the way.

Let's take a look together at what your water bill layout will look like;

How is your water bill worked out?

Your bill is calculated based on how much water you use, and how much wastewater leaves your property, for the period of time stated.

Metered bills:

If you have a water meter installed in your home, you'll only be billed for the water you use, plus a small standing charge. This charge is based on where you live and is reflective of the cost of abstracting water from the area. If your property is on a water meter, we aim to take a meter reading at least once a year and send you a bill twice a year, every six months.

Unmetered bills:

If you're not on a water meter, you'll be charged on Assessed Charges (the standard assessed charge is an annual sum based on the number of bedrooms at the property). For assessed charge customers, you can either pay on receipt of your bill or by monthly payments.

If you choose to pay your bill monthly, it will be divided into ten (April to January) or 12 instalments.

If you move into the property part way through the year, the bill will be divided across the number of months remaining. For example, if you move into the property in August, payment will be taken from September to January (five payments).

If your property does not have a water meter, you will get an annual bill from us between February and April each year. This bill will tell you how much your water charges will be for the year between 1st April - 31st March.

Wastewater charges:

You will see charges on page 2 of your bill for 'water in' and 'water out'. As a water-only company, we bill on behalf of other companies such as Thames Water or Southern Water to remove the wastewater from your property, to treat for safe consumption.

Despite billing on their behalf, we are separate companies operationally. If you have any concerns with your wastewater, such as any drainage issues please be in contact with your waste water provider directly.

How do I know if my account is in a debit or credit balance?

If you have a credit balance on your account, this will be shown as ‘CR’ next to your account balance figure. For example, £80.00CR (you can see example of this on the bill above).

If you have a debit balance on your account, this will be shown as ‘DB’ next to your account balance figure. For example, £80.00DB (you can see example of this on the bill above).

Help paying your bill

If you're struggling to pay, please don't worry. We're here to help you, now and always.

We have a number of support tariffs available. The best thing to do is get in touch so we can help you.

Managing your water bill with My Account

Whether on the go, at home or at work, our online portal allows you to manage your water account anywhere.

With My Account, you can easily view your bills online, manage your account and payments while providing meter readings, managing your home move and more.

Registering is quick and easy. Simply visit the MyAccount portal. (opens in a new tab)

Still a little unsure? Just get in touch, we’re always happy to help. You can call us on, 0333 000 0001.(opens in a new tab)