Trust in water companies across England and Wales has plunged to a new low as households grapple with soaring bills, an annual survey has found. Some 13 water companies saw their customer trust ratings fall during the year and the overall score for England and Wales drop from 6.28 to 6.07 out of 10, according to the 15th Water Matters report by the Consumer Council for Water (CCW). The most trusted water company was Northumbrian Water, which achieved 7.02, while Thames Water was the least trusted with a score of 4.74. A third of customers (35%) are satisfied with companies’ efforts to protect the environment, while satisfaction with sewerage services slumped 4% to its lowest ever level of 60%. Most common concerns were about companies’ management of sewer flooding and their efforts to clean wastewater properly before releasing it back into the environment.…