Scotland's three water authorities have outlined new charges for the year ahead.

Charges in areas covered by the East and West of Scotland Water Authorities are to rise between 30p and 50p a week from April.

But water and sewerage charges for the North of Scotland Water Authority area will remain unchanged.

The new prices, revealed after a collaborative effort by the water bodies, are intended to fund improvements to public water and sewerage systems.

Financial assistance

They reflect a review of charges by the Water Commissioner last year and anticipate the merging of the three water authorities into one.

The chairman-designate of Scottish Water, Professor Alan Alexander, said the charges are lower than if the three existing authorities had not worked together.

Environment Minister Ross Finnie said low income families with bills of more than �198 will receive financial assistance.

The new prices, revealed after a collaborative effort by the water bodies, are intended to fund improvements to public water and sewerage systems.

Charges in the east and west of Scotland will rise by about 30p a week for homes in council tax Band A and about 50p a week for Band D.

Last year domestic water bills rose by 18.9% in the east of Scotland and 19.4% in the west of Scotland.

They also rose by 16.9% in the north - where domestic customers were hit by an average 45% increase in water charges the previous year.