The Environment Agency has updated its Water resources planning guidance and Environmental Destination for Water Resources planning guidance following a consultation which ran from 13 October 2025 to 5 December 2025.
The Environment Agency has published detailed new guidance on the approach needed to propose a regional environmental destination for water resources and the steps to get there.
National Infrastructure Commission Chair Sir John Armitt is warning that cutting leaks and reducing demand alone isn’t sufficient in the face of population growth and increasing drought risk - there also has to be significant investment in a broad mix of new infrastructure.
Ofwat says that emerging Water Resources Management Plans plans being developed by five regional groups are proposing a step change in investment and that they should therefore “think carefully about the deliverability of the plans” from a practical perspective, including current supply chain constraints and affordability concerns.
Writing in a joint open letter, Ofwat and the Environment Agency (EA) have welcomed the recently published joint industry water efficiency Action plan developed by wholesalers and retailers in the business retail water sector.
In an Expert Focus article for WaterBriefing, Jon Darwent, Principal Consultant at Stantec argues that for strategic resource options (SROs) to contribute to best value regional plans, they need to be developed with a focus on the objectives and criteria by which plans will be judged, avoid uneconomic investments, operational inefficiencies and enhance resilience.
The Environment Agency has launched a new consultation on the draft Water Resources Planning Guideline it has prepared for the water companies to use in drawing up their Water Resource Management Plans(WRMPs).
The Government has launched a consultation on the draft National Policy Statement (NPS) on water resources infrastructure in England which flags up the potential need for more reservoirs, transfer schemes and desalination plants.
Water industry regulator Ofwat is calling on the water companies to up their game on water resource management and expressed disappointment that water companies’ draft water resources plans have fallen short of expectations.
James Sumsion, CEO of predictive water intelligence specialists Kohtari, says the water sector needs to take a giant leap forward, so that it can anticipate and act upon water quality issues - rather than merely react.
Ray Moulds, Sales Director at Flood Control International, takes a look at how automated sliding floodgates are supporting secondary containment at water and sewerage company sites.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
ERG, the leading supplier of odour control systems and industrial gas cleaning & thermal systems, has been awarded the coveted King’s Award for Enterprise.