LONDON, April 25, 2026, 23:06 BST
United Utilities Group PLC is moving forward with more than £34 million worth of sewer and storm-tank upgrades across Bury, Prestwich and Whitefield. The local work carries weight beyond the region, putting Britain’s water industry to the test: can steeper bills actually deliver cleaner rivers? According to the company, these projects aim to reduce the frequency that storm overflows — those pressure-release outlets for excess wastewater and rain when the sewers can’t cope — spill into the River Irwell and its tributaries.
Timing is crucial here. With the 2025-30 investment cycle already started, water companies now face intensified scrutiny—not just from regulators, but from politicians and customers fed up with sewage spills. United Utilities has laid out a £13 billion plan spread across five years, aiming to protect or improve over 500 kilometres of rivers, lakes and bathing waters, and to keep drinking-water supplies secure.
Customers are already feeling the pinch. According to MoneySavingExpert and industry figures, United Utilities’ average water and sewerage bill is projected to jump to £660 for 2026/27—a £57 rise, or 9%, compared to 2025/26. Severn Trent’s typical bill is expected to climb 10%, while Southern Water’s is set for an 8% increase, grouping United Utilities with peers now facing scrutiny over whether these higher bills will actually deliver better service.
United Utilities’ biggest Irwell-area project is underway at the Bury wastewater treatment works, where £28 million is being invested in a pair of storm tanks—each with a 3,000-cubic-metre capacity for excess flows. The utility expects to wrap up construction by June 2026. Elsewhere, United Utilities pointed to a £2.5 million tank scheme in Prestwich and a further £3.7 million earmarked for tank and sewer improvements in Whitefield. Altogether, the upgrades will add more than 6,100 cubic metres of storm-water storage.
Chris Borradaile, who heads wastewater services at United Utilities, described the projects as “another important step” and said new storage would “significantly reduce” use of storm overflows. He put the upgrades within what he called the company’s “largest programme” of wastewater investment in northwest England in a hundred years. United Utilities
Smart meters are cropping up everywhere in United Utilities’ network. Over the past year, the company has put in more than 200,000 new devices, Water Magazine reported Friday. The pace isn’t expected to slow: United Utilities wants to install or upgrade over a million meters within four years. The devices ping water usage data frequently, flagging leaks for the utility and letting customers keep a closer eye on their own numbers. “Ahead of schedule,” said Scott Green, who heads metering and field at the company. Arqiva’s Mike Smith called the achievement a sign of “speed and ambition.” Water Magazine
The next official numbers are set for May 14, when United Utilities is scheduled to release full-year results. Back in March, the company told investors it was looking for underlying earnings per share — that’s profit per share with certain items stripped out — for 2025/26 to land near 100 pence before factoring in an accounting change. That shift should reduce underlying net finance expense by about £35 million, lifting underlying EPS by around 5 pence. United Utilities left its operating-cost guidance where it was.
Shares last traded at 1,339 pence on the sell side and 1,340 pence to buy Friday, slipping 0.33%. AJ Bell’s read put the market cap near £9.14 billion. For April 24, the stock’s total return also slid 0.33%, versus a 0.75% drop in the FTSE 100, according to the data.
United Utilities, a heavyweight in its region, operates at a scale that brings both leverage and risk. According to Reuters, the company delivers roughly 1.8 billion litres of water daily, serving upwards of 8 million customers and businesses. Its network sprawls across more than 79,000 kilometres of wastewater pipes and sewers, anchored by 583 treatment works. The sheer size allows for major investments—but, inevitably, also means plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong.
Yet the delivery risk stands out. According to the Environment Agency’s 2024 Environmental Performance Assessment—a regulator’s scorecard for water firms—United Utilities landed just two stars, flagged as “requires improvement”. The agency logged 347 sewerage pollution incidents for United Utilities in 2024, slapping that figure with a red rating; to get a green, incidents needed to stay at 158 or below. Heavy rainfall, project holdups, contractor pile-ups, or even another pollution setback could all take the edge off what new tanks are supposed to solve, leaving customer bills exposed to more pressure. Gov
At the moment, management can highlight the Bury, Prestwich and Whitefield projects—actual tanks, pipes, storage space—rather than relying solely on a five-year investment promise. But the tougher proof is still to come: reductions in overflow, fewer pollution episodes, improved leakage numbers, and, crucially, whether customers feel the upgrades warrant pricier bills.
