This is triple the amount owed towards gas and electricity bills - according to a report from researchers at the University of Leeds. 

Despite this rising debt, which adds £11 to the average water bill, customers continue to see water as a disposable resource. 

The need to reduce water waste is one of the pressing issues that will be debated at the launch of water@leeds on 11 November. 

water@leeds is a the biggest university research group of its kind in the UK, which takes the novel approach of bringing together experts from the diverse fields of biology, chemistry, law, civil engineering, sociology, medicine, geography, environmental science, mathematics and computing. 

The Environment Agency has called for the universal introduction of water meters to tackle the problem of water waste, but Adrian McDonald, a Resource Management Professor at the University of Leeds and a member of water@leeds, believes regional differences in water balances must also be taken into account. 

UK households use 3 billion cubic metres of water each year, but residents in the densely populated south east use significantly more water than their counterparts in the north. 

Professor McDonald said: "With all the people in the south east and all the water in the north and west, there are massive differences in regional water footprints and resource availability. What we need is regional targets for water saving, which may well be zero in some areas. 

"Those households that are metered use less water, but the evidence that universal metering gives the same reduction, sustainably, is much thinner. 

"Water demand management is about people and their behaviour and not about gadgets alone!"  

This issue will be addressed by water@leeds, which will establish the top 100 questions facing the future of UK water management. 

Headed by Professor Joseph Holden, at the University of Leeds School of Geography, water@leeds will focus on the big challenges facing the future of the water cycle such as climate change, urban development and a growing world population. 

Professor Holden said: "The aim of water@leeds is to answer the major questions about water and its future security. To achieve this, scientists and policymakers must agree on how to focus our efforts in water management to ensure this vital resource is protected for generations to come. 

"Our research focuses on bringing together science, engineering, technology and management for real-world water issues, most notably as a consequence of climate change."

For more information 

Professor Joseph Holden and other water experts are available for interview, please contact Hannah Isom in the University of Leeds press office on 0113 343 4031 or email h.isom@leeds.ac.uk.

Notes to Editors

1. The water debt figures were taken from the report entitled Debt and Affordability - Debt Collection Performance & Income Deprivation (UKWIR Project CU-04) produced by Emaginating - a University of Leeds spin out company that specialises in consumer analysis, market planning and geographical modelling. Key members of the research team are team are Martin Clarke, Professor of Geographic Modelling and Adrian McDonald a Resource Management Professor at the University of Leeds.

2. The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise showed the University of Leeds to be the UK's eighth biggest research powerhouse. The University is one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. The University's vision is to secure a place among the world's top 50 by 2015.

3. On Wednesday 11 November 2009, water@leeds will be officially launched as a research, consultancy, education and training centre. The exhibition opens at 3.30pm and the official launch will take place at 4.30pm with presentations from water@leeds Director, Professor Joseph Holden and University of Leeds Pro-Vice-Chancellor for research, Professor Andrew Thompson.

4. From 5pm there will be keynote presentations from guest speakers including Dame Yve Buckland, Chair of the Consumer Council for Water; Mark Fletcher, Arup Director; Dr Jim Foster, Drinking Water Inspectorate; and Ian Barker of the Environment Agency. The event will end with a drinks reception.

5. water@leeds has been created to allow water researchers across disciplines to form a cohesive group, to stimulate new research and to help funding bodies and other researchers to locate water research expertise in areas specific to their needs.