'We want to know why our water use has gone up by 60% since 2015'

Residents in a Sheffield city centre apartment block have called for an investigation into leaks after their water bills doubled.

Some people living in two-bedroom apartments at Anchor Point on Bramall Lane say they are paying almost £100 a month and believe the high water consumption at the development must be due to multiple leaks.

The management company said it anticipates 2026 water bills for leaseholders to be up to £180,000 and has joined residents in asking Yorkshire Water to investigate.

Yorkshire Water said its readings show "fairly consistent" water consumption but added there may be "many variables".

The 176 apartments all share one water meter, which is common in older developments, and the bills are divided based on the size of apartments.

Residents said they are using water responsibly and have asked Yorkshire Water to install individual meters so they can get a clearer idea of why water usage in the building is so high.

Simon Brook is a voluntary director with the residential management board and said a number of residents have complained.

"I know of two tenants, both living alone in two-bedroom flats, who are paying £90 a month.

"We have meter readings going back 10 years and water consumption has increased.

"We can see in 2015, daily usage was 58 metres cubed on average for the whole development and that's gone to 94 metres cubed last year.

"That's a 60% increase in 10 years. There must be leaks, there really shouldn't be that much of an increase, that is very high consumption."

Residents said the current usage per person at Anchor Point is estimated at 300 litres per day which compares to the UK average of 150 litres.

Brian Davies has lived with his wife in a two-bedroom apartment since 2018.

He said: "This year my water bill is going to cost me just over £1,100, it's about £96 a month.

"I come from an environmental background so I'm quite conscious about conserving water, we're both really careful.

"We switch the tap off while we're brushing teeth, take showers rather than baths, we don't have a garden to water, we don't wash a car, there's no kids' paddling pools.

"Yorkshire Water says they have £327m to spend on putting in water meters and helping people reduce their bills but they don't seem interested in helping us.

"There must be a load of leaks somewhere and unless we get water meters we'll never find out where those leaks are."

Watson, the management company for the apartments, said it has historic data which suggests consumption has nearly doubled within the last 10 years.

A spokesperson said: "The water bills are a huge issue. Normally, where we have higher than expected water usage we would look for leaks and repair any that are found.

"However, we anticipate the 2026 water bill for leaseholders to be in the region of £160,000-£180,000.

"At nearly twice what it should be, we would expect a significant number of leak reports or signs of escape of water around the development which we are not getting.

"We have asked Yorkshire Water to assist with helping identify what the problem is. This does not appear to be a straightforward issue and Yorkshire Water are the experts."

Yorkshire Water said if residents suspect a leak, it is a private issue they need to take up with the management company.

A spokesperson said: "We have surveyed some flats previously for individual meters and found the pipework for all of the individual apartments would need to be altered to facilitate individual meters.

"Given the complexity, size and number of properties it would be a huge undertaking for the management company.

"However, should all of the residents decide that they want to have a new smart meter installed, Yorkshire Water would be happy to carry out the essential surveys to see if this is possible, but this would have to be with agreement of the management company.

"In terms of water consumption, our readings show fairly consistent figures although there are far too many variables to take into account over a 10-year period, such as change of use and occupancy."

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