By Alastair Chisholm, CIWEM’s Director of Policy After yet another bruising week for the water industry, future ownership and governance of water and sewerage companies remains high up the agenda. What are the options? What would rebuild trust? What might political parties advocate at a general election, asks Alastair Chisholm In a scathing House of […]
A summary of the environmental performance of the 9 water and sewerage companies operating in England. Environment Agency Chair calls the performance “very disappointing”, with “minimal improvement in star ratings compared to 2021”. The Environment Agency says that, for 2022, the main performance messages for the sector are: 5 water companies are rated as requiring […]
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee quizzed key decision-makers involved with Thames Water to a public hearing of the Committee on Wednesday 12 July to explain the difficulties facing the company and the water industry more generally. The Committee asked about the causes of the problems facing Thames Water and the potential solutions – […]
Pennon Group, owners of South West Water and Bristol Water, have announced the £85 million acquisition of three new (unbuilt) renewable energy generation projects, as part of their commitment to long-term sustainable growth in the UK’s environmental infrastructure. According to Pennon, “this significant milestone propels Pennon closer to achieving their ambitious 2030 Net Zero commitment […]
WildFish charity says £56bn plan to reduce sewage dumping from storm overflows is illegal because it expects customers to foot bill The legal challenge brought by WildFish, which seeks to have the Government’s sewage plan rejected as unlawful and re-written, is being heard in the High Court this week. WildFish wants the Government to: Enforce […]
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 […]
A coalition of environmental and wildlife NGOs has called on Ofwat to go further to ensure catchment and nature-based solutions are mainstreamed at PR24. In a letter, Blueprint for Water called for 10% of Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) spending to be on green solutions; for Ofwat to encourage companies to commit to outcomes […]
Water companies covering England and Wales have this week published final Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans, setting out how they will work in partnership to improve drainage and environmental water quality over the next 25 years. The plans cover flooding, pollution, storm overflows, nature-based solutions, SuDS and more. Combines, more than £108 billion will need […]