04 Jun 2026

Image description: The pull handle on a lavatory. Image by Andrew Martin from Pixabay   A hidden enforcement gap Misconnected household pipes, washing machines, dishwashers, sinks or toilets accidentally plumbed into surface water drains rather than the foul sewer, let untreated wastewater flow directly into rivers, streams and the sea. Although discharging foul water into a surface water […]

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 […]

21 May 2026

Image description: Someone cleaning their hands using a wet wipe, with rolling fields in the background. Image by Ekaterina Ershova from Pixabay.   A landmark ban is approaching – but many don’t know it With England’s ban on plastic-containing wet wipes due to come into force on 19 May 2027, the water sector is stepping up calls for […]

21 May 2026

Image description: A hand holding a pen marking a page with three columns of cartoon faces and checkboxes. The first column is a green smily face, the second a yellow neutral face and the third a red sad face. Image by Nasim Nadjafi from Pixabay   A new baseline for how companies manage their infrastructure Water companies […]

21 May 2026

Image description: Fungi growing on a tree stump with a waterfall in the background. Image by Christoph Schütz from Pixabay   The winners of the sixth Water Breakthrough Challenge have been announced, with 19 pioneering projects set to receive a share of £58 million from Ofwat’s Water Innovation Fund. The Challenge seeks to transform how the water […]

21 May 2026

Image description: A green wooden barrel storing rainwater, surrounded by grass. Image credit Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay.   England faces a critical water security crisis unless the government fundamentally transforms how it stores, manages, and reuses water resources. A newly published cross-party report from the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee warns that […]