Water UK has said that industry regulator Ofwat is “wide of the mark” to suggest that the water companies don’t value water.

Water UK, the body which represents all UK water and wastewater service suppliers at national and European level, was responding to comments made by Ofwat in its announcement that it intends to launch an investigastion into recent leakage failures.

A spokesperson for Water UK said that the water companies took missing leakage targets “extremely seriously.” The industry planned not just for the next year, or the next decade, but for the next generation. The renewal of pipes was a long-term process and when companies renewed pipes they had to be ever mindful of the cost to customers.

Since privatisation leakage has fallen by 35% as a result of constant investment in the national infrastructure. However, extreme weather could destroy even the most carefully laid plans when it came to leakage.

The spokesperson continued:

" A combination of a long period of bitterly cold temperatures, a swift thaw, and homes and offices left unattended and unoccupied over the Christmas and New Year period resulted in a record number of bursts. Many of these bursts were in pipes maintained by customers, rather than water companies."

"Valuing water is at the heart of what water companies do. To suggest otherwise is as wide of the mark as suggesting that customers don’t value their water. Customers and companies both worked very hard to fix the leaks, and the industry will continue to do so throughout the year.”