(by Verity Mitchell) Ofwat is consulting on a proposed £11m enforcement package, following its findings that Wessex Water failed to operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater network adequately. An agreed enforcement package has the advantage of being redeployed to resolve problems rather than having Wessex incur a penalty where the money is returned to the Consolidated Fund operated by HM Treasury. This is the sixth enforcement case agreed by Ofwat. It follows the conclusi

(by Karma Loveday) Following reports that ministers may consider withdrawing from the Aarhus Convention , 40 of the the biggest environmental NGOs and several King’s Counsel barristers have written to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to urge that the UK Government reaffirm its commitment to the Convention which guarantees access to information, participation in decision-making, and environmental justice. The Government recently stated in a Parliamentary Question that it had “

(by Karma Loveday) Ofwat has accepted an undertaking from SES Business Water (SESBW) on a return to compliance with the Retail Exit Code (REC) price protections and on compensation for adversely affected business customers. This is instead of an enforcement order, given SESBW has been proactive in putting matters right. SESBW was found to have charged some customers more than allowed for in the REC in 2023, and then for further contraventions including of a regulatory directi

(by Karma Loveday) Brighton and Hove City Council and the University of Brighton have moved into the monitoring phase of a pioneering project to protect 90% of the city’s drinking water – and the health of the chalk aquifer that supplies Brighton – from toxic road pollution. The council has built the Wild Park Rainscape beside the A27 to capture and filter runoff polluted with road-related contaminants (including oil, tyre particles, heavy metals and microplastics) before it

(by Karma Loveday) River health stakeholders have collaborated on a plan of action to deliver effective river monitoring under Section 82 of the Environment Act, which requires water companies to monitor water quality upstream and downstream of treated effluent outflow points, by measuring pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, ammonia, temperature, and conductivity. The Testing the Waters Consortium's first face-to-face event brought together representatives from major manufacture

(by Karma Loveday) The Environment Agency has approved Severn Trent’s application for a drought permit to refill the Carsington and Ogden reservoirs in Derbyshire. Severn Trent has an abstraction licence to take water from the River Derwent at Ambergate to fill its Carsington and Ogston reservoirs. The licence stipulates that the water company must reduce abstraction to 15 megalitres of water per day (Ml/d) when the average daily flow in the River Derwent is below 680Ml/d. Th

(by Karma Loveday) River Action has started its legal challenge against Ofwat for allegedly allowing some customers to pay twice for infrastructure improvements. At a hearing last week in Manchester Civil Justice Centre, River Action claimed Ofwat acted unlawfully when it implemented its policy that customers must not pay twice. The clean river campaigner said that in effect, some households would pay for infrastructure improvements to achieve environmental compliance, which

(by Karma Loveday) Ofwat has written to water company regulatory directors inviting them to submit proposals for additional enhancement allowances to support investment linked to demand growth – notably relating to data centres and housing targets. This followed company responses to a March 2025 Ofwat letter about enabling growth, in which the industry highlighted the need for funding mechanisms. Ofwat will consider proposals through the PR24 cost change process submission wi

(by Verity Mitchell) Ofwat has published a performance-related executive pay (PRP) assessment for 2024-5. This is the first year in which Ofwat has had the legislative powers to both prohibit PRP and apply the PRP cost recovery mechanism. The PRP Prohibition Rule is focused on whether a water company should pay PRP or not, and the recovery mechanism is focused on when customers should fund PRP. PRP is prohibited when a company has: breached a principal statutory duty; receive

(by Verity Mitchell) Ofwat has published its Monitoring Financial Resilience report for 2024-2025, in which it sets out its assessment of water company financial resilience. The companies are placed in four categories by Ofwat, as shown in the table: Thames remains in Ofwat’s Turnaround Oversight Regime. The regulator said it “expects Thames to deliver a credible and sustainable plan” to restore financial resilience.  Southern and South East both remain in the Action Require