Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether customers are entitled to reimbursement where they incur costs, including the installation of private pumping equipment, as a result of reductions in mains water pressure by water companies.

Customers are protected through statutory standards and compensation arrangements where water company service falls short. When water pressure falls below these standards and normal domestic use is impaired, customers may be entitled to compensation through the Guaranteed Standards Scheme.

Water company performance, including the reliability of supply, is subject to regulatory oversight by Ofwat, and companies are held to account where outcomes do not meet required standards.

We have strengthened these protections in recent reforms, including increasing compensation payments and ensuring customers are properly reimbursed following disruption, alongside plans for a new independent Water Ombudsman to provide binding decisions and improve access to redress where issues arise.