16 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Oleksandr Sushko The heat and rainfall deficit affecting the UK extends well across the North Sea, with Dutch authorities warning of a looming water shortage and the Rhine falling to levels that threaten to halt freight. The National Water Distribution Coordination Committee scaled the Netherlands up to level 1, an impending water shortage, on […]
16 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Anthony de Sigley – Own work, Public Domain Southern Water has pleaded guilty to two environmental permit breaches after a dark plume of pollution entered the River Test in Hampshire. The company admitted the charges at Medway Magistrates Court on 14 July, with two further charges to be taken into consideration. Sentencing will follow at […]
16 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Seiya Maeda Most people in England support hosepipe bans when water levels fall, but a substantial minority think it unfair to be asked to cut back before water companies have taken visible steps of their own. The finding comes from research by Ipsos for the Environment Agency, published on 15 July, based on a […]
16 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Luis Tosta South East Water will pay £30.5 million and submit to independent oversight following years of supply disruption across Kent and Sussex. The package concludes three Ofwat investigations into repeated supply interruptions, customer service failings and the company’s recent credit rating downgrade. It will be funded entirely by shareholders rather than through customer bills. […]
16 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Tejj The world is “living beyond our hydrological means”, the UN Secretary General has warned, saying overconsumption, pollution and climate change are driving freshwater use beyond the rate at which it can be replenished. António Guterres told ministers at the opening of the ministerial segment of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New […]
09 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Darren Tolley Severn Trent Water has been found in breach of its wastewater obligations, though Ofwat has decided against a financial penalty. The regulator concluded the company failed in its duties to provide drainage and manage the contents of its sewers, and had historically breached licence requirements to maintain adequate processes and systems. […]
09 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Steve Payne More than half a million people, nationally important infrastructure and the UK’s largest port complex face increasing tidal flood risk across the Humber unless a long-term, estuary-wide approach to adaptation is delivered. Understanding Tidal Risk, published on 7 July, is the shared evidence base of the Humber 2100+ partnership, which […]
09 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Swanky Fella Drinking water quality in England remained exceptionally high in 2025, even as ageing infrastructure and deteriorating asset health emerged as a threat to the long-term resilience of supplies. The Drinking Water Inspectorate’s Chief Inspector’s Annual Report found that 99.97 per cent of more than 3.5 million regulatory tests met the required […]
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