19 Jun 2025

 Image description: River running through stones. Photo by kazuend on Unsplash   The Environment Department (Defra) said more than £100 million in fines and penalties levied on water firms for breaches such as illegal sewage spills since October 2023, as well as future fines, will be reinvested in projects to clean up England’s waters. The […]

19 Jun 2025

Image description: Wide shot of the houses of Parliament. Image by Dominika Gregušová / Pexels.   A report from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) select committee has said bonuses and dividends for water company bosses and shareholders should be approved by the regulator Ofwat before they are paid, as billpayer funds are being […]

12 Jun 2025

Image description: Aerial view of water treatment works. Image by Tom Fisk / Pexels.   Dwr Cymru Welsh Water has reported an £8m loss for the past financial year, despite a £46m profit the year before. The Water company said it had invested a record £629m in its water and wastewater network in 2024-25, and […]

12 Jun 2025

Image description: Wide shot of the houses of Parliament. Image by Dominika Gregušová / Pexels.   The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard evidence in person earlier this week from senior executives at Ofwat, Water UK, CCW, DEFRA and the Environment Agency as part of its current inquiry into water sector regulation. In […]

12 Jun 2025

Image description: Dry, cracked earth. Image by Yusuf Gündüz.   National Drought Group to meet monthly  The Environment Agency (EA) convened a National Drought Group meeting, following the driest spring since 1893. EA director of water, Helen Wakeham, announced the group, which is formed of the Met Office, government, regulators, water companies, farmers, and experts, […]

12 Jun 2025

Image description: sewage outfalls emptying into the ocean. Image by Tom Fisk.   Unfair bonuses banned The government has confirmed “unfair bonuses” have been banned for six water companies with immediate effect, following new measures from the Water (Special Measures) Act coming into force. The government said that in the past 10 years, executives at […]

05 Jun 2025

Image description: Aerial view of a reservoir. Image by Kelly / Pexels.   Government gives two new reservoirs the go-ahead The Environment Secretary Steve Reed has seized control of the planning process to build two major reservoirs for the first time since the 1990s, in what the government is hailing as “a significant intervention to […]

05 Jun 2025

Image Description: Water treatment facility from a birds-eye view. Image by Tom Fisk.   The Independent Water Commission has released its interim report, ahead of its final findings due in the Summer. Sir Jon Cunliffe, Chair of the Commission, has set out five areas where he believes wide-ranging and fundamental change is needed to reset […]