Alastair Chisholm, Policy Director, Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), discusses the Government’s plans to reform the water sector outlined in a speech last week by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed.

Alastair Chisholm: Last Thursday, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed outlined his steps to reform the water sector at an event at The Thames Rowing Club in London. I was fortunate to be invited along.

Reed kicked off by reminding the assembled audience of water sector executives and media of the Great Stink of 1858, resulting from a toxic mix of untreated sewage, refuse from livestock and chemical waste from factories.

Public health was at risk so the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Benjamin Disraeli, was tasked with reform leading to Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s pioneering London sewers stopping the flow of raw sewage into the Thames. Elsewhere, Victorian engineers were doing extraordinary things, building pipelines and tunnels, and reservoirs to supply fresh drinking water.

The point being that water reform and revolutionary infrastructure can make a difference. At the time, thousands of lives were saved. Today, we live in very different times, but you could argue that we now face many of the same problems.

The Secretary of State has pledged a full review of water management with the Government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill. CIWEM welcomes a review but also urges government to ensure it is independent and genuinely cross-government.

One important point that Reed made clear was that future poor performance and pollution from water companies will not be tolerated. They will be brought to account. By introducing tougher penalties, it means potential jail sentences for those who obstruct regulatory investigations and better cost recovery mechanisms for the Environment Agency for legal costs. It also brings with it a lower burden of proof and automatic fines for more minor incidents.

These and other measures in the Bill signal a level of ambition we haven’t seen for some time – to end pollution for profit and repair a “broken water sector”.

This is a clear statement of authority for government and its regulators that provides a foundation on which to review the wider sector, bear down on all sources of pollution and build the health and resilience of our rivers, lakes and seas.

A new hope

Beyond the eye-catching headlines of prison sentences, Reed’s announcement of a full review of water management – spanning the water industry, agriculture, chemicals, highway pollution and more – is hugely welcome. Not confined to pollution, there was strong emphasis on water resource development alongside efficiency so there is enough water for people as well as nature.

More details are expected from government in the autumn. But the pledge to engage engineers, scientists, conservationists, campaigners, farmers, infrastructure operators and the public both directly and through public consultation aligns with  CIWEM's calls in A Fresh Water Future. It also offers the opportunity for detailed consideration of what does and doesn’t work, with a commitment to further legislation if required.

Government, which has already announced it will take forward some of the measures recommended by our work, could do worse than using the report’s wider recommendations and focus as a blueprint for its review.

This review offers hope of a serious approach to tackling the wide-ranging and complex challenges that plague our water. When it comes, it marks a landmark opportunity of the kind that may only come once in a generation.

We have one shot at reviewing water and recovering our rivers and seas over the coming years. We have to get it right!

The authority and independence of a review is the next question. Its mandate must come from Number 10 and the Cabinet Office. Reed presented cleaning up our waters as an opportunity and enabler of growth. This hints at a wider government understanding that a vibrant economy and society needs a healthy, resilient water environment.

It’s paramount then that this review cuts right across government departments. From Defra, through housing, transport, energy, health and more. It must not be kept in a Defra-sized box, or it will fail to match Reed’s ambitious pitch.

Recognition of water professionals

It was important and appreciated that Steve Reed thanked those who have pushed for action on water in recent years. Campaigners, citizen groups, professionals like CIWEM members and many more are passionate about reform and about the work they do in the water sector. These are people who care.

That recognition when many have felt abuse in the streets as they work on water pipes and other infrastructure is a grown-up recognition of what thousands of committed professionals do in the water space.

But to deliver the improvements government says it wants to drive forward, we will need many more such professionals, and Reed recognised this too. CIWEM’s growing policy-to-practice function will be supporting capacity building in a widening range of practice.

Reed’s speech offers reassurance that the work of water professionals is recognised and valued, and their future may look a little brighter and more optimistic.

At CIWEM we look forward to supporting government in achieving its ambitious goals.