Ofwat Chief tells public – we will hold water and wastewater companies to account if they have done wrong

Ofwat Interim Chief Executive, David Black has written an open letter to water customers telling them that If the regulator finds that water and wastewater companies have done wrong, Ofwat will hold them to account.

Setting out the background to investigations by Ofwat and the Environment Agency into water companies following recent reports about sewage discharging into rivers, Black explains that “new checks on wastewater treatment plants have led to some companies admitting that they may not be treating all sewage in the way they should be.”

In the letter, which begins with “Dear Water Customer” the Ofwat Chief says that the reports “have understandably, caused widespread public alarm and concern.”

Ofwat’s investigation is looking at how companies manage and report the performance of their wastewater treatment works, “especially in light of commitments they give us each year that they have all the resources they need to do their jobs effectively,” the letter says.

The Environment Agency is investigating separately whether companies are breaking environmental law by not complying with the permits for their treatment works.

Click here to read the letter in full