The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) has published its response to the Defra consultation on phosphates in domestic laundry cleaning products in England. Ofwat supports a regulatory approach and cited a recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report published in November 2006 which concluded that voluntary agreements without legislative backing are unlikely to be successful.

Ofwat has told Defra that meeting the in-river chemical standards proposed by the United Kingdom Technical Advisory Group (UKTAG) to achieve good ecological status under the Water Framework Directive will require action by all sectors including the water industry, agriculture and those responsible for non-agricultural diffuse pollution. UKTAG's preliminary cost-effectiveness analysis (pCEA) Synthesis Report  of the WFD identified the removal of phosphates from detergents as one of the most cost-effective solutions and as an important step in tackling non-agricultural diffuse water pollution.

In Ofwat’s view a regulatory approach would be the most effective option to deal with the problem. Ofwat has pointed out that in terms of phosphates, while there are some potentially controllable sources in the influent received by sewage treatment works, these sources are mostly outside the direct control of water companies.  Ofwat said that over the last 10 years the water industry has already taken significant steps to reduce the levels of phosphorus in their discharges with an assumption in excess of £600m of capital expenditure for phosphorus removal projects for sewerage companies for the 2005-10 period alone.

Ofwat also said that it did not support exemptions for smaller manufacturers of phosphate-based detergents from regulatory controls as this could trigger an increase in their market share  and even the creation of new companies exploiting the competitive advantage accorded to such smaller enterprises.

Ofwat drew attention to the benefits to consumers resulting from the use of source control over end-of-pipe solutions, commenting that while the water industry would still be required to enhance some works to incorporate specific phosphorus removal there are cost savings to be made by reducing the influent concentration of phosphorus.  The saving is estimated to be in the order of £7-13m per year which would be passed on to water customers through bills being lower than they otherwise would be.

The regulator said that if no controls on phosphorus in domestic cleaning detergents were introduced, the only viable option for this type of pollution would be traditional end-of-pipe treatment - a comparatively costly and energy-intensive solution which would  not align with the  WFD’s polluter pays principle.

Ofwat also highlighted the adverse impacts of agriculture on the water environment and said it believed that the Government should continue to work with farmers to reduce these through the provision of advice, guidance and funding of good farming practices.  Ofwat said that the Government, water companies, industry, land managers and individuals all needed to work together at the catchment scale, to prevent pollution problems arising in the first place.  The regulator believes that in the long term, this would not only benefit the water environment, but could also reduce the energy consumed in water treatment processes and the water industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.