17 Sep 2026

Image description: Aerial view of  Camps Reservoir, Biggar, Scotland. A road runs along the edge of the body of water. Photo by Johnny Briggs on Unsplash   The Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) has published a draft Corporate Plan setting out its priorities for the 2027–33 regulatory period. The independent economic regulator for Scotland’s […]

17 Sep 2026

Image description: A judge’s gavel on a wooden table. Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash   The former chief executive of Southern Water has appeared in court charged with conspiracy to defraud, facing allegations water quality tests were manipulated to avoid millions of pounds in penalties. The BBC reports that Matthew Wright, 60, who denies […]

17 Sep 2026

Image description: Devon fields during the summer 2026 drought. The grass is yellowed, with green hedgerows and a house in the background. Photo by Veronica White on Unsplash   There is roughly a one-in-four chance that around half of the country will still be in drought by spring 2027, according to new analysis presented to […]

17 Sep 2026

Image description: A dry creek bed in Hartz Mountains, Tasmania, Australia. Brown rocks have been deposited on brown soil. Photo by Matt Palmer on Unsplash   Rivers across the world experienced one of their driest years in more than three decades, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has revealed, reflecting declining water storage across the Earth’s surface and […]

17 Sep 2026

Image description: The Palace of Westminster, commonly known as the Houses of Parliament, located in London, England. Photo by Martine Mussies on Unsplash   MPs debate national referendum on public ownership of water industry The future of the private companies that run England’s water industry has been debated in Westminster after more than 200,000 people […]

15 Sep 2026

Photo by Richard Bell   A consumer group has accused supermarkets of “skimpflation” after tins of mackerel sold under some of the UK’s best-known brands turned out to contain an entirely different fish. Princes, which supplies own-label and branded tinned fish to Tesco and Sainsbury’s, has substituted Chilean jack mackerel for Atlantic mackerel across its […]

15 Sep 2026

Photo by Pete Godfrey   The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has set out changes to how it supports habitat restoration projects, after gathering feedback from practitioners who told the regulator the marine licensing system can be difficult to navigate. In a blog post published on 2 September, Adam Tillotson, the MMO’s Regulatory Reform Unit Manager, said […]

15 Sep 2026

Photo by AJ Wallace   The Scottish Government has opened a public consultation on proposed fisheries management measures covering more than 160 marine protected areas (MPAs) and priority marine feature (PMF) sites across Scotland’s inshore waters, in what officials have described as one of the most extensive exercises of its kind. The consultation, launched on Monday 14 […]