WATER PAGES
Water Sector told to ‘raise the bar’
British Water’s Annual Conference took place in Brighton on 26 November 2024
mixed picture on nature-based solutions for wastewater and the nutrient cycle. There is a deeper question too that regulations are not outcomes-focused and are very strict on how things need to be done, creating a context which makes innovation difficult.”
Regulators’ panel
Chief executive of the Environment Agency, Philip Duffy, has told delegates at British Water’s Annual Conference that action is being taken to meet rising customer expectations.
There has been a real collapse in public trust in what the sector is doing,” he said. “The EA is turning that around by gathering more water quality data than ever before, increasing inspections to more than 10,000 per year, and closing the justice gap to strengthen enforcement powers.”
“Longer term planning is needed to raise the bar to meet rising expectations in communities for things such as pharmaceuticals and sludge treatment.”
The event took place in Brighton on 26 November 2024, and during the opening regulators’ panel, Marcus Rink, chief inspector at the Drinking Water Inspectorate also flagged the looming problems of metals, plastics, and PFAS chemicals, which will require dedicated focus in the price review for 2025-30 water company investment plans - PR24.
Duffy also observed that conversations on water quality are overly focused on
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the water sector, and less on other actors, such as agriculture and manufacturing which also cause pollution.
Paul Hickey, managing director of the RAPID programme at Ofwat said, “We are on the cusp of releasing our final determinations [for PR24] and [they] will be positive in supporting the ambitious plans the water companies have to protect and improve the environment.
“We will, through a step-change in investment, improve river health, address storm overflows, stop damaging abstraction, and reduce leakage for more resilient water supplies.”
Hickey highlighted the need to harness the creativity of the supply chain and bring in experience from other sectors to get the most from PR24 investment for wider environmental benefit. He also noted how engineered solutions can, and should, work alongside nature- based solutions (NbS) rather than being seen in opposition.
Duffy said that the EA is taking an evidence-based approach on implementing NbS, “Currently, there is a
| January 2025 |
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Duffy argued that the EA is taking considerable risk as a regulator in allowing water companies to trial various nature-based solutions which are pushing at the boundaries of the regulatory framework, but said that it is the right thing to do to deliver value to the environment in the long-term.
As the UK Government launches the largest independent review into the water sector and regulation since privatisation, led by former deputy governor of the Bank of England Sir Jon Cunliffe, British Water chief executive Lila Thompson asked whether regulation of the water sector is broken. All agreed that fundamental change was needed.
Water UK chief executive David Henderson said it is and that the Cunliffe Review into the water sector, which was announced in October 2024, was “not before time” and he wanted to see “faster, cheaper, and simpler” regulation.
The panel cited areas of improvement including lengthening planning cycles for the medium and long-term, reforming outdated legislation, removing competitiveness between regulators, simplifying regulatory complexities, and reducing the costs of the processes; along with setting catchment-scale, outcome-based,
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