Water companies will be told to raise the level of compensation for households which suffer flooding by sewage water, revealed a report. It is estimated that there are between 5,000 and 7,000 such cases in Britain each year.
The National Audit Office (NAO) said it was concerned that the standard rebate of £125 for each flooding incident does not sufficiently reflect the damage and hardship caused by such flooding, especially for those who suffer repeated flooding.
Some homeowners who have a recurrent problem with sewage flooding find it very difficult or impossible to find insurance cover, said the report.
Edward Leigh MP, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said the present level of payments was "deplorable", and called for the government and water industry to remedy the situation.
"Households that suffer from the extreme distress of sewer flooding then have insult added to injury because by law they merely receive a rebate on their bill. Payments should increase to reflect the damage and distress suffered," said Leigh.
The water industry will be warned by the NAO today that they must do more to guard against the possibility of homes being flooded, said the report.
The water companies, however, claim that it would cost £1.1bn to deal with the most severe internal flooding problems and a further £500m to tackle severe external flooding of gardens and streets.
According to the report, the water companies also estimate that 11,600 properties are at risk of internal sewer flooding at least once every ten years.
