The Competition and Markets Authority has cleared the merger of Sutton and East Surrey Water with South West Water, following the acquisition by Pennon Group announced on 10 January 2024.

Ofwat has published a revised timeline for its draft decisions on the water companies’ AMP8 Business Plans - the PR24 draft determinations will be published on 12 July, followed by a seven week consultation which will close at 12 noon on 28 August 2024.

The Liberal Democrats’ Election Manifesto is calling for water companies to be transformed into public benefit companies, bonuses for water chiefs to be banned until discharges and leaks end and Ofwat to be replaced with a tough new regulator with new powers to prevent sewage dumps.

Thames Water is the last of six UK water companies to have a legal claim issued against it via the Competition Appeal Tribunal for allegedly misleading its regulators as to the number of discharges of untreated sewage it made into rivers, lakes, coastal areas, and other waterways causing damage to the environment.

The Environment Agency (EA) has confirmed that the water companies will have to pay significantly increased charges for water quality permits with effect from 1^st June 2024.

The government has set out measures to tackle pollution at source and enable the construction of thousands of homes, as it publishes a list of over 140 wastewater treatment works legally required to be upgraded in areas affected by nutrient neutrality advice.