22 Jul 2020

The Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) has published its forward work programme for 2020-21. Made up of the three water regulators – Ofwat, Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate – RAPID was set up in 2019 to identify and address issues relevant to the development of joint infrastructure projects and to analyse the […]

08 Oct 2019

Ofwat has published its new strategy ‘Time to Act, Together’, setting out the regulator’s ambition for the water sector. It marks a shifting approach to regulation, based on 3 goals: To transform water companies’ performance To drive water companies to meet long-term challenges through increased collaboration and partnerships For water companies to provide greater public […]

29 May 2018

New ‘State of the Environment’ reports from the Environment Agency have been published, covering: water resources – how much clean water we have available water quality – including rivers, estuaries, coasts and groundwater The reports include status and trends, as well as current and future pressures. According to the water resources report, rivers and wildlife […]

29 May 2018

Defra has published its Water abstraction plan 2017. This sets out how the government will reform the way it manages water abstraction, to protect the environment and improve access to water. It has been updated to include the first four Initial Priority Catchments: Idle & Torne in East Midlands, The South Forty Foot in Lincolnshire […]

22 May 2018

A major new satellite-based study by NASA warns that water shortages will be the key environmental challenge of the century. It finds that freshwater supplies have already seriously declined in 19 global hotspots – from China to the Caspian Sea – due to overuse. Areas in northern and eastern India, the Middle East, California and […]

22 May 2018

Reported in Water Briefing Water industry regulator Ofwat is calling for regional water resource groups to take a much stronger role in regional planning for water resources. John Russell, Senior Director, Strategy and Planning at Ofwat, was commenting on the appointment by the Water Resources South East group (WRSE) of Simon Cocks, who formally stepped […]

21 Nov 2017

Last week saw a number of new announcements from Defra. These included: UK and Welsh governments sign water powers agreement. UK Government introduces measure to safeguard water supply for England & Wales; Protocol to safeguard water resources, water supply and water quality for consumers in England and Wales. This “will safeguard water resources, water supply […]

14 Nov 2017

The government is seeking views on the development of a national policy statement for water resources and the types of infrastructure that it will apply to. The government wants to know what you think about its approach to developing a national policy statement for water resources. The statement will simplify the process of gaining planning […]