15 Apr 2026

Image description: People walking past the Palace of Westminster in the rain. Photo by Heidi Fin on Unsplash Calls for a referendum on water company ownership  Two campaigners who prominently featured in the recent Channel 4 docudrama Dirty Business have launched a petition calling for a referendum on water company ownership.   As reported in the BBC, Ash Smith and […]

02 Apr 2026

Image description: A person wearing black signing a document, with papers spread across a table, Photo by Dimitri Karastelev on Unsplash   A fine-free window in exchange for investment commitments Thames Water is reported to be close to an agreement with Ofwat that would shield the company from new fines for four years, provided it […]

02 Apr 2026

Image description: Two people shaking hands across a desk in an interview. Photo by Mina Rad on Unsplash. New rules have come into force from 1 April 2026, requiring new water company executives to pass a fit and proper person test to hold these senior positions, and ensure consumers are properly centred in companies’ decision […]

02 Apr 2026

Image description: Two large pipes extend into choppy ocean water. Image by Jennifer Simmons / Unsplash Water companies released raw sewage into England’s rivers and seas almost 300,000 times last year, equivalent to a 35% reduction in spill numbers compared with 2024, according to the latest Environment Agency (EA) figures. Alongside a substantial fall in average spills […]

26 Mar 2026

Image description: Aerial shot of bewl water reservoir in the South East of England during sunset. Image by Jack B / Unsplash   Dr Mike Martin, the Liberal Democrat MP representing Tunbridge Wells, has urged Ofwat to scrap the proposed £22 million penalty against South East Water and instead compel the company to reinvest the money directly into improving water infrastructure.  The intervention follows Ofwat’s recent enforcement action […]

26 Mar 2026

Image description: Ecologically damaging Blue Green algae blooms (cyanobacteria), close up from river bank along Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland.   A High Court challenge has been launched by an eel fisherman against the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) over the Lough Neagh pollution crisis.  The judicial review his being brought against DAERA by eel fisher […]

19 Mar 2026

Image description: A child standing on a paddleboard wearing a green safety jacket and brightly-coloured swimming trunks. Photo by Ben White on Unsplash   The deterioration of water quality in the UK’s largest lake now threatens to intersect with another public health crisis, the rise of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, the so called ‘Superbugs’. As […]

12 Mar 2026

Image description: A person holding out a glass filled with water. The glass is in sharp focus while the person is blurred in the background. Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash.   Ofwat fines South East Water £22m Ofwat has announced South East Water is to be fined £22m for repeated supply failures in Kent […]