(by Karma Loveday) The Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) is consulting until 13 October on its draft corporate plan for 2027-33, which will coincide with around £8bn of investment in water services planned under the Strategic Review of Charges for the same period. The plan identified four areas of focus for WICS – ensuring customers pay no more than necessary, holding Scottish Water to account, improving the non-household retail market and running WICS efficiently

(by Karma Loveday) The White Horse Reservoir Growth Coalition was launched last week at a Parliamentary event, to publicly back the £6.6bn reservoir and to call for it to be granted Critical National Priority status. This would put the project on a level playing field with nationally significant energy projects, helping to remove planning barriers and accelerate delivery. The coalition unites organisations from across the South East, spanning a range of sectors including tech

(by Karma Loveday) Devon & Cornwall and East Anglia are expected to still be in drought by the start of April 2027 under the most likely rainfall scenario. That was among the projections emerging from last week’s National Drought Group meeting, where the Environment Agency presented potential rainfall scenario data for the coming seven months. For all areas to come out of drought – that is when rivers, groundwaters and reservoirs are back to normal levels – we need another we

(by Karma Loveday) Ofwat is consulting until 16 October on mandating that wholesalers and retailers use the new Smart Meter Read (SMR) Hub by 7 December. The regulator is minded to accept code change proposals CPM064 and CPW165. These provide for: Making the SMR Hub a central market system, operated by MOSL and integrated with CMOS, to provide assurance that it will be managed under the established market framework. Mandating its use by wholesalers and retailers. Wholesalers

(by Verity Mitchell) The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee has published a report following its evidence gathering on what it emotively calls “the dire situation at Thames Water.” It urged that ministers should explore all options for the company, including using the Special Administration Regime (SAR) or fresh legislation, to “draw a line under this debacle and restore stability to the sector by putting Thames Water on a sound footing for new buyers

(by Karma Loveday) Four former Southern Water staff, including its 2011-2016 chief executive Matthew Wright, appeared in court on Friday charged with conspiracy to defraud – a common law offence carrying a maximum ten-year prison term. It is alleged that between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2017 the individuals conspired to defraud the Environment Agency and Ofwat through the implementation of artificial no-flow events at wastewater treatment works to manipulate the operato

(by Karma Loveday) Welsh Water has lifted the hosepipe ban that has been in place for around 33,000 properties across mid and south Ceredigion, parts of north Pembrokeshire and north Carmarthenshire. This followed recovery in treated water storage levels, and decreased demand linked to the ban, as well as to lower temperatures, increased rainfall and the end of the summer tourist season. The company thanked its customers for their contribution while the ban was in place. In E

(by Karma Loveday) Infrastructure minister Liz Kimmins has commissioned a forensic audit into governance systems at Northern Ireland Water. Key areas of focus are expected to be HR, contract procurement visibility and whistleblowing. In a written statement to the Northern Ireland Assembly, Kimmins said: “Regrettably, there are a number of issues which are ongoing in NI Water, some of which have been the subject of NI Water investigations and have already resulted in the need

(by Karma Loveday) The Good Law Project (GLP) has called on Ofwat to "take appropriate steps to ensure that the public are not misled by legal inaccuracies with respect to the availability, purpose or mechanics of the special administration process for Thames”. The legal campaigner said it was moved to write to the regulator in light of media reports which cite Defra ministers’ reasons for not putting Thames Water into special administration. GLP said the first oft-cited reas

(by Verity Mitchell) Estelle Brachlianoff, chief executive of Veolia, has told the BBC that her company would consider running Thames Water if it were taken into public ownership. Private companies operating assets owned by the state is a familiar model for Veolia in France, although it owns regulated water assets in the US. Running renationalised Thames under contract – its drinking water facilities, wastewater treatment plants and networks – "could be an option, yes,” Brach