Ofwat has brought forward 33 schemes from 2025-30, to be commenced over the next two financial years, valued at £2.2bn, up from the £1.6bn consulted on in April. The additional £600 million will deliver:

• Ten schemes worth close to £1.7bn to reduce overflow spills by around 10,000 per year.
• The installation of 462,000 smart meters across seven schemes, which will help to increase drought resilience.
• Six water supply schemes which will provide an additional 75Ml/d of water once completed and protect a maximum of 31Ml/d of peak output.
• Three nutrient neutrality schemes worth £160m that will protect natural ecosystems and enable the development of up to 82,500 homes.

The economic regulator has also given the green light to 12 strategic water resource schemes. These will progress through gate two of the staggered process being overseen by the Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID). It will enable the schemes – water transfers, water recycling solutions and three new reservoirs – to continue to receive funding to progress to the next stage of investigation.