Water sector regulator Ofwat is calling the water companies in England and Wales to cut bills by an average of £50 and invest extra £6 million a day in services over next 5 years.

A new report published by the Drinking Water Inspectorate on drinking water quality in England shows a rise in water compliance failures during 2018. 

Ofwat has launched a new consultation on driving transformational innovation in the water sector as part of the development of its emerging strategy for regulating water and wastewater companies in England and Wales.

In a new report reviewing the second year of the business retail market, Ofwat is warning that urgent action is needed to get the market working effectively and unlock better outcomes for more customers. 

Thames Water has been ordered to pay more than £700,000 in fines and costs for polluting the Maidenhead Ditch in Berkshire – killing fish and leaving many in distress.

Water company efforts to protect the environment have been described as ‘simply unacceptable’ in an Environment Agency (EA) report published today with only one of the major water and sewage companies in England performing at the level expected.

Ofwat has today confirmed a package of measures to strengthen water companies’ financial resilience, by calling on them to adopt a common set of standards.

Ofwat is writing to Anglian Water, SES Water, Thames Water, and Yorkshire Water to give them early notice that it has substantial concerns about their proposed costs for maintaining business as usual service (base expenditure) for the 2020-25 period.

Following the publication of Ofwat’s findings against Southern Water for sewage treatment failures which resulted in a record £126 million penalty for the utility, Chief Executive Rachel Fletcher has described it as a dark week for the water industry.