Directors at the Environment Agency, Defra and Ofwat have written to senior executives at all of the water companies in England to reaffirm their joint expectation that the companies should focus on delivering the commitments and investments set out in their water resources management plan (WRMP) “starting straight away.”

In the same standard letter sent to the companies, the regulators state:

“You have set a high level of ambition in your WRMPs to rise to the resilience challenge, which is reflected in the four-fold increase in allowances set in the PR24 final determinations for WRMP24 delivery compared to PR19. Therefore, delivering your ambition must start without delay at the start of AMP8.

“Meeting the commitments you have made in the first five years of the WRMP planning period is crucial for supporting the nation’s growth mission, enabling nature to flourish, and meeting the longer-term challenges of climate change and improved drought resilience.

“Ensuring WRMP delivery so that growth and development is not constrained is essential for the Government’s plans…..

“Given the scale of what needs to be achieved by 2030, regulators and government expect there to be no delay to commencement of delivering WRMP commitments”

The letter explains that the PR24 final determination funds:

• 334 million litres per day of new water supplies through the building of new supplies and interconnecting infrastructure;
• Leakage to be driven down by a further 16% (401 million litres per day);
• 2.4 million new smart water meters to be installed, and 7.2 million meters upgraded to help reduce demand including leakage;
• Per capita consumption to be driven down by 5.8% to a national average of 127.5 litres per person per day;
• Over 250 million litres of water a day retained in the environment
• Construction to start on nine new strategic resource supply options that will become available through the 2030s including reservoirs, water recycling schemes, and a water transfer.
• Ofwat’s PR24 final determinations included £7.9 billion of water customer funding for companies in England to deliver enhancements related to their WRMPs.

According to the regulators, the means are available now for WRMP delivery to commence - whether or not a company has requested PR24 final determinations to be referred to the Competition and Markets Authority for redetermination.

Escalation of WRMP non-delivery could include investigations and enforcement 

Pointing out that they will be tracking performance and scrutinising delivery, the letters also flag up that “escalation of WRMP non-delivery could include investigations and enforcement by the relevant regulators.”

Looking ahead to WRMP29 and beyond, the letters say the regulators recognise that an “even wider range of additional water supply options will need to be explored.”

The letters conclude:

“We look forward to seeing how your company has delivered over the last year of AMP7 in the WRMP annual review submission this summer and how you will meet the commitments you have made in your WRMP24.

“We will work with you in the national interest to deliver for customers and the environment.”

Richard Thompson, Deputy Director, Water Resources, Paul Hickey, Senior Director Rapid & Environmental Planning, Ofwat and Martin Woodhead, Deputy Director, Water Management, Defra were the co-signatories to the joint letters.