A coalition of 15 leading environmental groups is warning the Government not to delay or cut back on environmental spend at PR24 to improve water quality.

Organisations including the Wildlife Trusts, Rivers Trust, Surfers against Sewage, RSPB England, Friends of the Earth and Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, were responding to two separate letters recently sent to water companies from Environment Minister Therese Coffey MP and from the Environment Agency.

According to a report in The Times newspaper on Wednesday, the Environment Agency wrote to water companies in July at the request of Thérèse Coffey to ask them to ensure their water resources management plans would protect their customers “from adverse bill impacts” and to “investigate the scale of investment needed” in the context of “many families and individuals struggling to pay their utility bills”.The companies were also asked to explore whether they could minimise costs from 2030 onwards, while meeting legal requirements.

In a separate letter to water companies about the Water Industry National Environment Programme, the Times article states that the Environment Agency “appears to ask companies to stick to the bare legal minimum on environmental efforts to save money.”

Writing in an open letter to Thérèse Coffey yesterday, the environment groups warn:

“Defra's recent requirements of water companies to explore the deferral of many environmental projects under the Water Industry National Environment Programme and Water Resources Management Plans until after 2029 would delay essential environmental action and, ultimately, increase costs to consumers.”

“This requirement on companies is out of step with the Government’s commitment to halt the decline of nature by 2030 and reverse it by 2042. It also contradicts DEFRA’s latest Strategic Policy Statement to Ofwat, which named ‘protect and enhance the environment’ as the top strategic priority for the water industry.”

"Cost of delay far exceeds that of a targeted and efficient course of action"

The open letter says that while the groups accept that prioritisation will be necessary in PR24, “deferring vital environmental projects will not drive nature’s recovery, will not meet public expectations for a clean, healthy and thriving water environment, and nor will it represent good use of public money.”

The statutory target framework and steer given would together lead “to a narrow focus on engineered solutions to sewage pollution in PR24, missing cost-effective opportunities for environmental improvement and failing to tackle other major water industry impacts”, the letter says.

"Government must direct Ofwat and the water industry to deliver a transformational price review in 2024"

The letter concludes:

“Cutting back on essential environmental improvements now is a complete false economy.

“Instead, Government must direct Ofwat and the water industry to deliver a transformational price review in 2024, with a step-change in environmental ambition.

“We have reached a critical point where the cost of delay far exceeds that of a targeted and efficient course of action. We urge you to reconsider.”

The Wildlife and Countryside Link brings together 76 organisations, making it the largest environment and wildlife coalition in England.

Click here to read The Times article in full

Click here to read the open letter in full