http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23663406

That's one hell of a price rise

Settle down, they barely made a billion pounds in profit last year, they can't be expected to be able to afford to look after their things when you're scraping by like that.
I think asking for a price rise would be justified if it was run as a not for profit organisation. However, it's not, they're hugely profitable and hence they can get on with it, IMHO.

the water companies now have the Govt. backing them for compulsory water meters and i believe the price increases are to get these meters in place so they can charge even more

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/enviro ... eters.html

instead of high speed rail we need a national water network ...

They should be disqualified from paying dividends while their water losses through leakage are so high. Water meters should be free to put in or take out. It should not be a one way option.

a better option would be, as an Island nation, were water resources are abundant. being able to transfer these natural resources throughout this Island nation ...

and just as a side line.
they are not paying any taxes but getting and gaining massive state subsidises

why are these 'private' companies who earn massive profits be getting any state subsidies

they should stand or fall all by their own, unless re-nationalised ...

I'm not entirely against the idea of services or even some utilities being privatised and even profit made from them, with the correct oversight.

However the supply of something which is essential to life for every single person in the UK should never, ever have been taken out of the public's hands. It is simply not a commercial commodity. Water supply should not be something that is tied to the whims of the market, however loosely.

I am not against the idea of a private sector but as you say some sectors are simply too important to be private. The car industry should have been privatised. If there is a management problem in a nationalised body bring in an outside management team to run it and pay them by results but the assets stay in the public sector.