21 Aug 2024

Recent cost of living research from Ofwat found that 20% of water bill payers are struggling to afford their charges. A March 2024 survey found one in five are struggling with water charges, up from 18% in October 2023. This is part of a wider picture of affordability challenges, with 53% saying they struggle to […]

13 Aug 2024

The government is consulting on plans to double compensation payments for customers when their basic water services are disrupted. Subject to an eight-week consultation, the proposals will double payments for all existing standards and will more than double the payments for certain highly disruptive incidents, such as when water companies fail to provide notice of supply […]

13 Aug 2024

Almost 500 different chemicals, some of which are banned, have been found in various mixtures across all 171 river and groundwater catchments tested in England in 2024, according to data from the Environment Agency, analysed by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations. More than half of them are classified as very toxic, toxic or harmful to aquatic […]

13 Aug 2024

A Conservative minister repeatedly tried to stop England’s environment regulator from publishing data showing a sharp rise in recorded sewage spills into waterways, according to emails obtained by Unearthed. The Environment Agency (EA) is obliged by law to publish annual statistics on how often overflow pipes released sewage into rivers and seas, and how long the […]

13 Aug 2024

The Environment Agency has completed a new flood risk management project to better protect hundreds of homes and businesses on the east side of Hull from flooding. Castlehill Aquagreen is a key part of the second phase of the £28 million pound Holderness Drain Flood Alleviation Scheme which when fully complete, will reduce the risk […]

13 Aug 2024

United Utilities has repurposed tanks at its Ambleside and Windermere wastewater treatment works to create an additional 2.6 million litres of storage across the two sites. As a result of upgrades at both sites, the tanks were redundant and able to be repurposed into storm tanks after the installation of some new equipment. The additional […]

07 Aug 2024

The government has published a new consultation seeking views on the proposed approach to revising the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in order to achieve sustainable growth in our planning system. The government is also seeking views on a series of wider policy proposals in relation to increasing planning fees, local plan intervention criteria and […]

07 Aug 2024

Ofwat has proposed that three water companies will be fined a total of £168m for failing to manage their wastewater treatment works and networks, as part of the first batch of outcomes from its biggest ever investigation. The penalties proposed for consultation will see Thames Water fined £104m, Yorkshire Water fined £47m and Northumbrian Water […]