04 Jun 2026
Image description: The overflow plughole on Ladybower reservoir in full flow. Peak District, England. Photo by Jonathan Bean on Unsplash Why it matters Ofwat has launched a consultation on new draft guidance for water companies delivering schemes under the Specified Infrastructure Projects Regulations 2013 (SIPR), the framework originally used to deliver the Thames Tideway Tunnel. In […]
04 Jun 2026
Photo by Jonathan Cooper on Unsplash Communication, not supply, was the breakdown A new report jointly commissioned by Ofwat and the Consumer Council for Water has concluded that communication, rather than supply failure itself, was the clearest and most consistent breakdown in South East Water’s response to two major disruptions last winter. Fewer than one in […]
04 Jun 2026
Image description: A person in a grey jumper filling up a glass with tap water. Photo by SHTTEFAN on Unsplash A record fine South West Water has been fined a record £1.853 million at Exeter Magistrates’ Court after a faulty air valve allowed Cryptosporidium into the Brixham drinking water supply in 2024. 537 people were left […]
02 Jun 2026
Photo by Craig Thomas Millions of fish deaths at Scottish salmon farms have been made public after the government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) was ordered to release its inspection reports following a ruling by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). APHA had refused to disclose the reports, arguing that publication would “likely result in […]
02 Jun 2026
Photo by Georg Eiermann A coalition of offshore wind developers, vessel operators and technology providers has published a position paper calling on government and regulators to remove the barriers preventing offshore vessel charging from moving beyond demonstration into widespread commercial use. Offshore charging, where support vessels draw renewable electricity directly from wind farms rather than running […]
02 Jun 2026
Photo by Hans Peter Traunig The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has allocated the 30 commercial licence authorisations for the 2026 bluefin tuna fishery following a ballot, after receiving 155 applications, more than five for every available place. The fishery, which is restricted to UK vessels of 12 metres and under using low-impact rod and reel gear, […]
02 Jun 2026
Photo by Annie Spratt Cornwall’s inshore fisheries regulator is proposing an emergency byelaw to restrict octopus potting by larger vessels, as concern mounts over the impact of an unprecedented population bloom on the region’s crab and lobster fisheries. Cornwall IFCA announced on 26 May that its members will consider the measure at a quarterly meeting […]
02 Jun 2026
Photo by Jacob Fryer Standing in a harbourmaster’s office on the Danish island of Bornholm, Tom Nielsen surveys walls lined with sepia photographs of a busier era. “We used to have 55 boats at one time, and now we have one left,” he told BBC Future. “You could walk across the harbour from one fishing […]
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