(by Karma Loveday) Just over half (52%) of business customers are now aware they can choose their water retailer, up from just under half (48%) last year. But contracting levels remained broadly stable on 2023-24, with around 3% switching in the last 12 months and 4% renegotiating. That’s according to Ofwat’s 2024-25 State of the Market report and Business Customer Insight Survey , which was conducted in partnership with the Consumer Council for Water. Both awareness levels a

(by Karma Loveday) The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) has called on the Government to make “a fresh water future” a reality when it publishes its White Paper following the Cunliffe Review. In a 2025 report, updating on progress and priorities emerging since the January 2024 publication A Fresh Water Future, CIWEM praised government actions to date, including the Water (Special Measures) Act, commissioning the Cunliffe Review and supporting

(by Karma Loveday) River environment charity WildFish is awaiting a High Court decision on the legality of house-building plans in the Buckinghamshire village of Maids Moreton, which it argued would see an already-overwhelmed sewage works discharging even more sewage into the ‘poor’ rated Great Ouse River. The challenge is against Buckinghamshire Council’s decision earlier this year to sign off on planning for the development, but WildFish said: “The High Court’s decision i

(by Karma Loveday) The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee kicks off its new inquiry into the relationship between regulators and economic growth on Tuesday. The first session will hear from academics and is expected to cover issues including: what regulators can do to support growth; the key challenges and trade-offs between growth and other objectives which regulators have; the strengthening of the Growth Duty; the role the Government should play in encouraging

(by Karma Loveday) Defra and the Welsh Government have laid a Statutory Instrument before Parliament to amend the 2013 Bathing Water Regulations, to give effect to the outcome of the 2024 consultation on modernising the bathing water regime. In a written statement to Parliament, water minister Emma Hardy said there were three core reforms plus some technical amendments:  Core Reform 1 removes automatic de-designation when a bathing water site receives a classification of ‘poo

(by Karma Loveday) Thames Water has opened a statutory consultation on the 150bn litre SESRO reservoir in Oxfordshire. Public input gathered during this consultation, which runs until 13 January, will directly inform the application for planning consent that Thames Water will submit to the Government in Autumn 2026. The consultation includes updates on scheme design and amenity. Anglian Water and Cambridge Water have launched their first public consultation, open until 21 Dec

(by Karma Loveday) England needs at least 100% of average rainfall (482mm) to largely recover from drought by the end of March next year. That came in an update from the Environment Agency to the National Drought Group last week. For context, only two months of 2025 have seen more than 100% so far. Despite recent rain and some alleviation, the water resource situation in England remains a ‘nationally significant incident’. The Group said England should prepare for an ongoing

(by Verity Mitchell) Pimco has sold the majority of its Thames Water bonds to the hedge funds already involved in the restructuring: Apollo, Elliot and Silverpoint. This appears to be profit-taking after the recent price rise of the traded debt. This in itself indicates optimism from the market that the most recent proposals for the financial restructuring of Thames may be viable. The sale may also indicate that Pimco has no interest in the debt to equity swap envisaged in th

(by Karma Loveday) Wales will take the opportunity presented by Independent Water Commission-led reform (IWC) to rethink its water arrangements beyond regulation. In a statement to the Senedd, deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for climate change and rural affairs Huw Irranca-Davies shared the following intentions, in his update on next steps for Wales from the IWC:  To create a new economic water regulator for Wales in line with IWC recommendation, but one that also

(by Karma Loveday) The Government intends to consult on establishing a centrally-led development corporation to deliver nationally significant growth in Greater Cambridge, backed by £400m of initial investment. In a written statement to Parliament, housing minister Matthew Pennycook said the new corporation would build on the work to date of the Cambridge Growth Company (CGC) to “realise the full potential of Greater Cambridge as part of our plans to supercharge growth in the