Ofwat, the water regulator, ruled today that the average household bill could go up from '269 in 2004-05 to '315 by 2009-10, not including inflation.
The rise is one of the biggest in the country, but still far less than the '416 United Utilities had demanded last year to pay for '3.8b of maintenance and improvements.
The company lowered their sights in May to ask for an average yearly increase of 7.8 per cent over five years, including rises of more than 10 per cent in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
But Ofwat said they could have no more than an average annual increase of 3.5 per cent, while still raising a '2.4b "clean-up" fund - enough to carry out various improvements.
These include upgrading 51 water treatment works, replacing 2,500km of mains and reducing pollutants running into the River Eden from Bolton sewage works.
The company denied it had been trying to Tweet