Household water bills should fall by around £20 over the next five years, the industry watchdog has ruled.
The 5% real-terms drop, excluding inflation, would see average bills come down from £396 to £376 by the end of the decade, according to Ofwat.
The pricing decision by the regulator confirms a provisional determination in August.
When the process for setting bills began last year, water companies had submitted plans which would on average have cut bills by 2% in real terms.
Ofwat rejected a request by the UK's biggest water company, Thames Water, to increase household charges by 3% over the period 2015-20 to help pay for the £4.2bn super-sewer project.
The firm, which serves around 14 million customers in and around London, has been told it must instead cut them by 5%.
It also said utility firms must improve efforts to tackle water leakage, supply interruptions, sewerage water flooding of properties and see cleaner water at beaches.
Ofwat chief executive Cathryn Ross said: "With bills held down by 5% and service driven up over the next five years, customers will get more and pay less.
"Where companies stepped up to do the best they could for their customers we did not need to intervene, but where companies fell short we stepped in to make sure customers get a good deal.
"Now the hard work begins. Companies will only build trust and confidence with their customers if they deliver.
"Those who do can look forward to fair returns, while those that don't will be hit in the pocket and face a tough five years ahead."
All 18 companies were told to cut bills in real terms, 10 of which which supply both water and sewerage services.
United, which had asked last December to keep bills flat in real terms, was told to cut them by 3%.
Bristol Water - which is a water supplier only - had asked to put bills up by 1% but was instead told to cut them by 21%.
Anglian was told to cut bills by 10%, Welsh Water Dwr Cymru by 5%, Northumbrian (including Essex and Suffolk) by 1%, Severn Trent by 5%, Southern by 8%, South West by 7%, Wessex by 9% and Yorkshire by 3%.
New charges will come into effect in April 2015.
Ofwat said companies have two months in which to accept its final determination or seek a referral to the Competition and Markets Authority.
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