The fate of Ofwat, the water industry regulator, hangs in the balance following a government review aimed at addressing the rising cost of water bills and the deteriorating state of Britain's waterways. Campaigners condemn Ofwat as ineffective, while the government pledges action to prevent future bill hikes driven by failures in the sector.
The regulator Ofwat could be dissolved in the independent review of the water sector, with the Government reminding the public that its fate will be the subject of a review aimed at improving water industry regulation and the dire state of Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas. The Environment Secretary Steve Reed said “the failures that led to today’s bill rises can never happen again” while campaigners said it marked the “final nail on the coffin” for the regulator.
Ofwat suggested future bill rises beyond 2030 may still be on the cards, particularly due to the threat of climate change on Britain’s sewerage infrastructure. Ofwat’s chief executive David Black said future bills were still a “matter of speculation”, but said the sector “anticipates significant environmental risks”. “The impact on bills will be a mixture of the level of investments and market returns required for investors. So I wouldn’t rule out future bill increases.” Climate change is bringing more intense rainfall to the UK, which is putting significant pressure on the country’s sewerage infrastructure. Huge amounts of investment is needed to increase the network’s capacity and prevent it from flooding. However, it is currently unclear whether Ofwat – which has been described as “toothless” and blamed for failing to prevent water companies from dumping sewage – will still be in existence in its current form by the time of the next price review, which takes place every five years.ministers are also considering changing the system to set water bill prices annually, which some argue would allow companies to become more reactive to emerging problems, like the sewage pollution scandal. Charles Watson, founder of the River Action campaign group, described Thursday’s water bills decision as the “final nail on the coffin” for Ofwat. “They have to be either fundamentally reformed or replaced with some other form of regulator,” he sai
Ofwat WATER REGULATOR WATER BILL INCREASES ENVIRONMENT CLIMATE CHANGE
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