(by Karma Loveday) Water UK has set out three concerns with Ofwat’s draft determinations on the 2026 cost change process, despite welcoming the additional proposed investment of £3.4bn. The trade body noted the allowance will support housing and growth, and has successfully demonstrated that new investment can be flexibly unlocked outside of the five-yearly price review cycle. But its concerns were: Certain expenditure areas have been ruled out of scope "for no good reason”.

(by Karma Loveday) Beers and soft drinks giant Carlsberg Britvic has launched a landmark ten-year partnership with The Rivers Trust to invest in nature-based projects to help restore rivers, wetlands and floodplains near its Rugby manufacturing site. The projects will be delivered by Severn Rivers Trust. The partnership will support the delivery of multiple projects across the Warwickshire Avon catchment, 15 miles from the site, including on local rivers such as the Leam, and

(by Karma Loveday) Ardingly Reservoir, which serves 228,000 customers in Haywards Heath and the surrounding areas in Sussex, has moved further into drought, triggering the next level of response in South East Water’s Drought Plan. At the end of last week, it was only 22.8% full, but not all of that is usable due to sediment and the location of the draw-off tower. The Environment Agency granted the drought permit South East Water applied for on 28 August on 29 September. But i

(by Karma Loveday) Thames Water has invited three consortia to tender for the construction of the White Horse Reservoir in Oxfordshire: • WFH JV: comprising Webuild (JV leader), Hyundai Engineering and Construction and FCC Construccion. • BMV+: Bouygues Travaux Publics (JV leader), J. Murphy & Sons and VolkerFitzpatrick • BBV: Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering (JV leader) and VINCI Construction Grands Projets As the Main Works Contractor, the successful bidder will desig

(by Karma Loveday) The opening ceremony for the International Water Association’s World Water Congress took place in Glasgow yesterday, as the city welcomed over 10,000 global water experts and others to four days of discussions. The Congress theme – Water action: the path to resilience and prosperity – reflects the growing recognition that water is fundamental to economic growth, healthy communities and environmental sustainability. Key areas of focus at the event will be wh

(by Verity Mitchell) Andy Burnham’s proposed changes to the Water Bill have not triggered a revision of sector risk, according to Fitch. The ratings agency’s base case is that sector reforms “will deliver a clearer and better-coordinated framework”. Fitch said it will review the regulatory environment at the start of AMP9. It assumed that reform would leave the central setting of allowances and price controls intact, along with statutory and financeability protections. Moreov

(by Karma Loveday) Environment secretary Angela Eagle will bring forward a strengthened Water Bill, the centrepiece of which will be the removal of the current limits set out in the Water Act 1989 on government ownership of shares in the major water and sewerage companies in England. The exact limits vary by company but are below 3% in each case. In his leader’s speech to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, prime minister Andy Burnham detailed that: “Where private compa

(by Karma Loveday) Ofwat has approved draft funding to enable a five-fold expansion of the capacity of the Havant Thicket reservoir, and recognised that the forecast operational date needs to be pushed back from 2029 to 2034 to accommodate changes to the original design. Under the regulator’s decision, which is out for consultation until 12 October, the original allowed totex of £339m would be increased to £823m, under the second cost adjustment mechanism (CAM2) to the Havant

(by Karma Loveday) Water-related disruption has caused companies $1.4bn of financial impact, and they anticipate a further hit of almost $400bn from climate disruption costs, regulatory risks and new capex requirements. That is the message from Water, trade and capital: how water is reshaping geopolitics, supply chains and financial risk – analysis of disclosures on water from 6,500 companies from environmental disclosure specialist CDP. $45bn of the $400bn is expected to occ

(by Karma Loveday) Rain alone is a poor predictor of when and where bacterial contamination will hit coastal waters. That’s according to research by Plymouth Marine Laboratory, published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin. The findings challenge assumptions built into existing water quality forecasting, and suggest there is untracked risk to public health from swimming/recreation and shellfish production. The work combined water sampling with advanced computer modelling to tr