A new report from the water industry regulator says that better use of customer data is key to enabling Britain’s water sector deliver for its customers in the years ahead – but that currently none of the water companies was able to provide Ofwat with a copy of their data strategy.

Today is the deadline to comment on the first phase of the Competition and Markets Authority investigation into the proposed non-household retail water and sewerage services joint venture between Anglian Water Group Ltd and Northumbrian Water Group Ltd.

Supermarket giant Tesco Stores Ltd has been ordered to pay over £8 million in fines and costs after pleading guilty to a pollution incident.

Ofwat Chief Executive Cathryn Ross has said that the bigger challenges to greater collaboration in the water sector are about mindset and getting over the ‘water company knows best’ or ‘not invented here’ culture.

A major new report from Capita’s legal, financial and regulatory services business has highlighted how improvements to payment collections and debt recovery will play a vital role if the water industry is to rise to the twin challenge of increasing regulation and rising customer expectations.

Ofwat wants the water companies to include a set of performance commitments relating specifically to resilience for the next 10 to 15 years, as well as a new asset health performance commitment, in their AMP7 Business Plans.