Rebuilding trust in the water sector

The Independent Water Commission published its report with 88 recommendations on restoring public and investor confidence in the water sector in England and Wales.

There is a 67 page summary of their report. 

The key areas for reform include:

• Establishing a cross-sector strategy for water covering the water industry, agriculture, land-use, energy, transport, and housing development
• Modernising the legislative framework
• Establishing a new regulatory framework (including the abolition of Ofwat)
• Changing the way water demands are managed
• Strengthening the governance of companies, including the introduction of a new regime for senior accountability and changes to company licence conditions
• Improving the management of the sector’s critical infrastructure – namely, the underground pipes and other assets that underpin water and wastewater services.

The decision to abolish OFWAT was just one of the Government’s immediate responses to the report.

Emma Hardy, the Minister for Water and Flooding, told the BBC that the Government will be introducing a Water Bill next year, and that it will be examining exactly how many of the 88 recommendations will be brought into law.